Harry Potter and the Jade Dragon
by Starlight1
Summary: The sequel to Harry Potter and the Mirror's Gift. Harry's adventures during an exchange programme with a wizarding school in China.
1. (PART ONE) Dragon Post

_Dear friends, this is the sequel to my first story, **Harry Potter and the Mirror's Gift**,   
which I have also released on fanfiction.net. You might like to read Mirror's Gift first,  
if you haven't already, as some of the characters who appear in this story were introduced there. ~ Kim_

  
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**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON. PART ONE.  
**------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
**Chapter I**

**_Dragon Post_**

  
_I had a visitor tonight  
With tidings from a distant land.  
Those far-off shores are calling me;  
Should I respond? Or stay my hand?  
_

**It** was a still and quiet night in early August. Harry Potter turned around in his bed,   
and tried to go to sleep. He had just managed to doze off, and was dreaming he was  
zooming around on his Firebolt, for some reason with Professor Severus Snape in   
hot pursuit of him, when a sharp tapping at his bedroom window jerked him awake   
again.

He sat up, half-asleep, and looked at the window. Instead of the owl he'd expected   
to see, there, peering at him through the glass was the strangest little creature. It had a   
slim, scaly, snakelike body, that glittered silver in the moonlight, and a wedge-shaped   
head with two gleaming eyes. It looked, in fact, exactly like a miniature dragon.

Harry, now wide awake, got out of bed and went over to the window. He looked out   
cautiously, to determine whether the creature was friendly or not. Tied to its back was   
a letter, and what looked like two rolls of parchment, one smaller than the other.

Harry opened the window, and the dragon flew in and landed on the bed. Turning its   
head, it opened its jaws and blew a small tendril of flame at the string tying the bundle  
to its back, so that the string broke and the letter and parchment fell onto the bed.   
Then, with a pleased chirp, it flew over to Aunt Petunia's discarded dressing-table   
nearby and landed on it, and then sat there, gazing into the cracked mirror and admiring   
itself.

Hedwig, Harry's snowy owl, had been sitting nearby watching all the while, and gave a   
rather sarcastic hoot. Harry went over to the bed and quickly unrolled the bigger piece   
of parchment. He was unable to read it; it was covered with Chinese characters,   
executed in beautiful, flowing brush-strokes. He unrolled the smaller parchment. It, too,   
was covered with Chinese characters, but there was also a horizontal line drawn at the   
bottom that looked as if one might place a signature there. He then opened the letter,   
which turned out to be in English.

_-----------TIAN-LONG ACADEMY OF THE MAGICAL ARTS------------------_

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_This letter is the English translation of the notice in Chinese which you have just   
received. We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to participate  
in an exchange programme between Tian-Long Academy of the Magical Arts, in   
Long-Shan, China, and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The   
programme will be carried out over a period of four months, with students from   
Hogwarts attending classes at Tian-Long from October - November, and students   
from Tian-Long attending Hogwarts during the period December - January.  
_

_The classes you will be attending at Tian-Long include :_

_Basic Chinese Divination  
Chinese Potions  
Care of Magical Creatures of China  
Protection Against the Black Way_

_As all the necessary spellbooks will be provided, you are not required to purchase   
any. However, you will need to bring the equipment you are currently using for   
your Potions classes at Hogwarts._

_If you are interested in taking part in the programme, please sign the acceptance   
form (smaller roll of parchment) and return it to us. We await your dragon no later   
than 20 August._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Lady Hsu Wen-Li,  
Headmistress_

Harry read through the letter twice, trying to get over his surprise. An exchange programme   
in China! He'd never imagined such a thing was possible. China seemed far away, on the   
other side of the world. Would he have to learn Chinese? What would the students there   
be like? Who else from Hogwarts would be going?  


At this moment, two owls soared in through the open bedroom window. One was a   
minute, fluffy, grey one, which Harry recognised as Pigwidgeon, Ron Weasley's owl.   
The other was a tawny owl, bearing two letters, one with the Hogwarts crest on it.  
  
Harry opened the Hogwarts letter first.

_----------HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY-------------------_

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_Please note that the new school year will begin on September the first. Attached is   
the usual list of books and equipment that you will require this year._

_You have also been selected to participate in an exchange programme between our   
school and Tian-Long Academy of the Magical Arts, in Long-Shan, China. As the   
Chinese Magical Community has been isolated from the outside world for many years,   
we are hoping that this exchange will be able to contribute in some small way to the   
gradual opening up of its borders. You are therefore strongly encouraged to take part.   
Please note, however, that this will not exempt you from completing the usual   
coursework at Hogwarts. You will be given extra classes during the course of the year,  
and are expected to spend some of your time in China completing assignments which   
will be handed out to you._

_If you wish to participate in the programme, kindly sign the acceptance form which   
Tian-Long Academy will be sending to you._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall,  
Deputy Headmistress_

Harry opened the second letter which the tawny owl had brought. It was from Jeanne,   
who was assistant to Hagrid, the gamekeeper at Hogwarts.

_Dear Harry,_

_Remus and I send you our regards. This is a quick note because things are quite   
busy at the moment. How have your holidays been? I hope everything is going   
well with you._

_You must have read Professor McGonagall's letter by now. I hope you'll take   
part in the exchange programme. To encourage you to attend, I thought I'd   
let you know that Hermione and Ron have also been selected. I may be going   
as well, tell you more about it when school starts._

_love from Jeanne_

Finally, Harry opened Pigwidgeon's letter, which of course was from Ron. It looked   
as if it had been scribbled in a hurry.

_Dear Harry,_

_Exciting news, this small dragon just popped into the living room and gave Mum   
a fright. Seems that Hogwarts is having an exchange programme with a wizarding   
school in China and I've been selected to attend. Sounds interesting, doesn't it?   
I've decided to go. I really hope you're going too. Am writing to Hermione as well,   
I guess she should have been selected, she did so well in the exams last year._

_I'll be getting the usual school stuff in London the week before term starts, shall we   
meet up then? Send a reply with Pig as soon as you can._

_Ron_

Harry laid all the letters and the rolls of parchment before him on the bed, and looked at   
them. Then, he did the only thing he felt he could possibly do : taking his quill and ink, he   
signed the acceptance form, and tied it to the little dragon's back. He then brought the   
dragon to the window (with some difficulty, because it seemed to want to continue gazing   
raptly at itself in the mirror) and threw it out. He stood at the window, watching it as it   
flew off, high into the night sky, and eventually disappeared.

- 


	2. The Magic of the Orient

  
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**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------  
_(The sequel to HP & the Mirror's Gift)_

  
**Chapter II**

**_The Magic of the Orient_**

  
_The Magic of the Orient  
Lies hidden in a quiet street.  
We never knew that it was there,  
A place where East and West may meet.  
  
_

**O**n the last Thursday before school reopened, Harry found himself together with Ron  
and Hermione, weaving through the crowded streets of Diagon Alley. Their arms were  
filled with new spellbooks, and Ron was having a heated argument with Hermione.

Harry had had no trouble in getting down to London. The Dursleys had gone away on  
vacation, and had parked Harry with old Mrs Figg before they'd left. Mrs Figg did not  
voice any objection when Harry had requested he make a day trip down to London, and  
Harry was so relieved that for once he didn't even mind enduring the cabbage-smelling  
house or the endless photographs of cats he was forced to look at.

Ron had sent him a small packet of Floo Powder, via Pigwidgeon, and on the appointed  
day, Harry waited till Mrs Figg had left the house for her weekly visit to the pet shop (to  
replenish her supply of cat food), and then threw a handful of powder into the fireplace,  
and set off.

Ron was cross because Hermione wanted to look for a bookstore where she could buy  
some Chinese spellbooks.

"We're only going to be in China for two months, Hermione," Ron said impatiently. "It's  
not worth it, buying any books. Besides, all the spellbooks are probably written in Chinese.  
You can't possibly learn Chinese in one month - it's a horribly difficult language."

"There have to be some English translations," said Hermione firmly. "I've seen references  
to a few in some of the library books at Hogwarts."

"That's it - you can just borrow the books from the library, instead of buying them," said Ron,  
pouncing on this. "That'll make more sense. If you buy the books, you'll just end up using  
them for two months and then never touch them again."

"There _aren't_ any Chinese books in the Hogwarts library," said Hermione. "I would know  
if there were."

Harry grinned at Ron.

"Don't forget, Ron, Hermione probably knows every book in the library by now," he said.

"She's nutters," grumbled Ron irritably. "The weather's sweltering today, and we could be  
sitting at Florean Fortescue's now, having ice cream. But no, she's got to go on this wild-goose  
chase. Look at all the books she's holding, she can't possibly carry any more."

Hermione, however, ignored this, and continued marching determinedly down the street,  
looking at the shops.

  
They were just passing Ollivander's when the door opened, and who should come out,  
but Professor Lupin and Jeanne. Lupin was looking amused, and Jeanne was holding a  
new wand, and looking absolutely thrilled. She caught sight of Harry, Ron and Hermione,  
and waved the wand at them in greeting, sending sparks shooting out of it.

"I've got my own wand, at last," she said gleefully.

Lupin smiled at them.

"I heard about the exchange programme," he said, his eyes twinkling, "Congratulations."

Ron was still glowering at Hermione, but Harry grinned and said, "thanks," while Hermione  
beamed at them.

"How did the wedding - " Harry began, but Hermione suddenly cut in eagerly, "Harry says  
you'll be coming with us to China, Jeanne. Is it true? But, surely you won't be attending  
classes with us?"

"It's not confirmed that I'm going, yet," said Jeanne, smiling, and then, noticing Lupin  
glancing at his watch, added, "I'll tell you about it when school starts. We have to rush  
off somewhere now."

"Just a second, Jeanne," called Hermione, as they were leaving, "Do you know of any  
place where I can have a look at some Chinese spellbooks?"

Ron, standing behind Hermione, gazed imploringly at Jeanne and shook his head vigorously,  
but Lupin was already replying, "there's a bookshop a few streets down, at the corner on  
the left. It's called '_The Magic of the Orient'._"

Hermione beamed at them, and then stood there, watching as they disappeared into the crowd.

"I think it's _so_ romantic, that they're finally together, even after all that happened last term,"  
she said sentimentally.

"Hermione, you're making my skin crawl," said Ron. "And forget about the Chinese books.  
Let's go to Florean Fortescue's, I saw he's got several new flavours out"

"We didn't ask them how the wedding went," added Hermione pensively, ignoring Ron, and  
then she turned and started off down the street in the direction Lupin had indicated.

Ron gave Harry a look of despair, as they turned and followed her.

"_The Magic of the Orient_" proved to be a small, decrepit-looking shop, run by a diminutive,  
bespectacled Indian man with bright eyes and a neat little moustache. He was sitting behind  
the cash register, wearing an untidily-wound turban, holding a snake-charmer's pipe, and  
playing to a very tired-looking cobra located in a basket in front of him. At intervals, he  
would solemnly refer to a tattered book lying open at his side, which Harry saw was entitled  
"_Charming Your First Snake_".

The shop did not only sell books. It also contained several cages of snakes, and a selection  
of snake-charmer's pipes of different sizes. Another large cage contained five little brown  
dragons, similar to the one that had delivered the letters to Harry. The cage was marked -  
_Trained postal dragons. 30 galleons each_. On one long shelf was an array of ancient-looking  
oil-lamps, gleaming dully in the light, with a sign stuck next to it : _"Experienced genies for  
sale. Please do not rub; ask for assistance first."_ In a corner was a pile of rather mouldy-looking  
carpets, all with intricate and colourful patterns on them. Here, the sign said, _"Licensed dealer  
for Genuine Flying Carpets. We only stock Persian, Indian, and Arabian. Dry-clean only."_  
Next to the sign was a framed certificate, issued by the Ministry of Magic.

Ron looked suspiciously at the certificate. "I must get Dad to check on this," he muttered to Harry.

Hermione had wandered off to look at the books. Going up to join her, Harry glanced at some  
of the titles : _A Beginner's Guide to Levitation_; _the Development of the Magical Arts in India_;  
_Fake, Fact, and Fiction : A Fakir's Autobiography_. On the next shelf : _Training Your First  
Genie - a Step-by-Step Guidebook_; _How To Take Proper Care of your Flying Carpet_.

"Here's the China shelf!" said Hermione, stopping at the very last shelf. "Oh," - her face fell a  
bit - "Most of them are all in Chinese."

Ron, however, had been distracted by something.

"Look," he said, "they've got games and puzzles herethey've got Chinese Chess!"

He pushed aside a small, cubical box labelled "_Chinese Magic Box_" in large letters, and in  
smaller letters "_Impossible to open, yet simple_", and took a larger, rectangular box out from  
underneath. It was marked "_Xiang-Qi, Chinese Chess_" and as he picked it up, the pieces  
inside all rattled excitedly.

Hermione gave him a withering look, as if dismissing any games as frivolous, and then turned  
back to the books. Harry went over to join her.

"There are some second-hand books in English," he said, bending down.

Hermione, however, was examining a large Chinese - English dictionary. She flipped through  
it, then stopped at one page.

"Look, I've found the Chinese word for swallow, as in the bird," she said, looking at the  
small illustration of a swallow flying around the page in fascination. She pressed the Chinese  
character with her index finger, and the book suddenly said, "_yàn_!" in a high-pitched lady's  
voice.

Hermione was so surprised that she almost dropped the book. She pressed the character  
again, and the book said, "_yàn_!" again.

"It's a talking book!" she said excitedly. "That would solve the problem of learning the  
intonation of the words." She flipped to another section, and pressed another character.  
"_Shàn_," said the dictionary.

"That means good and kind," read Hermione, getting more excited. Harry could see from  
her face that the dictionary was as good as sold.

He stooped down, and randomly took one of the second-hand books out. It was old  
and faded; the title went "_Diary of an English Wizard in China During the Years  
1900 - 1907, by Septimus Snufflegint_".

Harry flipped through the book, and on one page, the word "shape-shifter" caught his eye.

_"During my stay at the Imperial Court, I met several interesting people, but none  
more so than a certain warrior named Wang-Mang. He was known for his outstanding  
bravery, but what was unusual about him was that he had mastered the Animagus  
Transformation to such an extent that he could transform into virtually any animal  
that he wished. On having further speech with him, I learned to my astonishment that  
he had not achieved this state with the same effort that we seem to require in the west.  
The ability had come naturally to him, even as a child. Moreover, although this talent  
added to the respect that the other Chinese accorded him, no one else seemed as  
surprised as I that one should possess such an ability. It seems that most of the  
Chinese believe, from tradition, that such shape-shifters have existed, through  
the centuries, although very rare._

_Intrigued by this, I sought permission to examine the Imperial Library, and after a  
long and intensive search, discovered that a record of such shape-shifters does  
indeed exist, although not common, whether in historical archives or in folklore.  
I also later found another piece of information in a book on Chinese mythology  
which was rather interesting :_

_'For centuries, the people of China have revered the dragon, believing themselves  
in fact to have been descended from that race. The dragon is a creature of good  
who has the power of transformation and brings life-giving rains. It was a  
supernatural creature able to accept any type of form, capable of morphing  
from one form into another within a few seconds' "_

"Look at this," said Harry to Hermione, rather excited. Ron, who was still reading  
the instructions on the _Xiang-Qi_ box, also came over to look.

"It's interesting, isn't it?" said Harry, as the two of them read the passage. "It makes  
sense, then, why Jeanne is a shape-shifter."

"Well, yeah, but that stuff about the Chinese being descended from dragons, that's  
only a myth," pointed out Ron.

"It's still interesting, though," said Hermione, her eyes shining. "Oh, I think we're so  
lucky, travelling to China is going to be such an adventure!"

"We've still got to get through all our usual work at Hogwarts, though," said Ron  
gloomily. "And we've got to take Divination in China as well. You can't possibly be  
excited about _that_, Hermione."

"Chinese Divination is probably different from ours," said Hermione primly. "And  
we'll have another teacher. That can make a lot of difference."

She turned back to the books, and Ron wandered back to the chess-set. Harry, not  
finding any other books of particular interest to look at, went over to watch the Indian  
shopkeeper and his cobra.

The cobra, still swaying to the music of the snake-charmer's pipe, was looking very  
disgruntled by now. As it swayed, it hissed something to a small python which was  
coiled up in a cage nearby. Harry found, to his surprise, that he knew what it was  
saying, before he remembered that he understood Parseltongue.

"My back is killing me," the cobra hissed fretfully to the python.

"Bite him, then," replied the python, looking unperturbed.

"I can't," groaned the cobra. "He removed all my venom this morning."

At this moment, Hermione came up to the counter with a pile of books in her arms.

"I'll take all these," she said, smiling brightly at the little shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper put his pipe aside, and put a hand up to reposition his turban,  
which had become slightly askew.

"Ah, you are interested in China?" he said, looking at the pile of books.

"We're going there on an exchange programme," said Hermione importantly. Ron  
had reluctantly concluded that he couldn't afford the Chinese Chess set, and had  
come over to join them.

Hermione paid up, and as she gathered up her books, the shopkeeper said,  
"Next time, you must visit India as well - "

There was suddenly a loud, cracking sound coming from the python's cage,  
succeeded by a ripping noise. The shopkeeper broke off in mid-speech, looked  
over at the cage, and gave a falsetto screech of horror.

The cobra had managed to nudge the snake-charmer's pipe over to the python's  
cage, and the python had crushed the pipe in its coils. It lay there, humming cheerfully  
to itself, ripping the pipe into small pieces, and throwing them out one by one with  
flicks of its tail. The cobra, in the meantime, was grimly shredding '_Charming Your  
First Snake_' into small strips of paper.

The little Indian man promptly went into a fit of hysterics, and started screeching at the  
two snakes in rage. Ron and Hermione, leaving the shop after Harry, were wondering  
why Harry was doubling over in a fit of helpless laughter.

_-_


	3. A New Term Begins

  
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**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------  
_(The sequel to HP & the Mirror's Gift)_

  
**Chapter III**

**_A New Term Begins_**

  
_There's always a price to pay, my dear  
You can't go to China for free  
There are lots of assignments for you to clear  
Plus books to be read : volumes one, two, three  
And you'd better some Chinese culture learn  
So you won't appear quite so ignorant.  
_  
  


"Potter! Weasley! Granger! I want a word with you!"  
  
Harry, Ron and Hermione turned to look in the direction of the voice. Professor  
McGonagall, tall and beady-eyed, was standing at the entrance of the Great Hall.  
The start of term feast had ended, and the three of them had just left the Hall  
together with the other Gryffindors.

They turned to follow her, wondering what trouble they could have got into when  
the term had barely started. Professor McGonagall led them swiftly to her office,  
sat down at her desk, and waved her wand. Three stools appeared out of nowhere,  
and positioned themselves in front of the desk.

"Sit," she said briskly.

They sat down, and looked at her.

Professor McGonagall took out three sheets of parchment, and laid them on her desk.

"Right," she said in a businesslike tone. "The three of you have decided to take part  
in the exchange programme. That will mean some additional effort on your part. These  
are the assignments you will be missing here while you are in China from October to  
November. We will be giving you extra lessons, but there is no harm if you start reading  
up on them earlier." She handed one sheet of parchment to each of them.

Hermione looked pleased, but Ron and Harry's faces fell when they saw the long list.  
Ron involuntarily gave a small groan.

Professor McGonagall regarded him steadily.

"You were informed earlier that you would have to do extra work, Weasley," she  
said tartly. "You were aware of it when you signed the acceptance form. I am expecting  
you to perform better than you did last year."

Ron gloomily nodded, and rolled up the piece of parchment.

"I would like to remind the three of you that while you are in China, you also represent  
our school," continued Professor McGonagall. "You should be on your best behaviour  
at all times. I shall be most displeased if anyone from Gryffindor embarrasses the  
school in any way."

"Please, Professor, who else is going, besides us?" asked Hermione, voicing what Ron  
and Harry had also been wondering.

"The number is small, as this is the first time we are trying out such a programme," replied  
Professor McGonagall. "There will be twelve students in your class altogether : six from  
Tian-Long, and six from Hogwarts. The other Hogwarts students are from Slytherin :  
Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle."

She saw the looks of horror on their faces, and said in a very final tone, "Remember that  
all of you represent Hogwarts while you are there. I expect you to put aside any existing  
animosity and to give a good impression of our school during your stay there."

Ron couldn't seem to accept the news.

"But - why _them_?" he burst out. "Who did the choosing? It must have been Snape!"

Professor McGonagall glared at him.

"_Professor_ Snape, Weasley," she said sharply. "And it was not Severus Snape, nor I,  
who selected all of you. The Sorting Hat was asked to make the choice. You should  
be happy that the three of you are together. We asked the Sorting Hat to choose students  
who are already familiar with one another, to minimise the chances of homesickness while  
you are there."

Ron and Harry's faces looked mutinous, indicating they had no desire to be familiar  
with Draco Malfoy.

"Professor," said Hermione, "Will the classes be in English?"

"They certainly will," replied Professor McGonagall. "The Headmistress there, Lady  
Wen-Li, has been planning this exchange programme for some time. She has been  
encouraging her staff to learn English."

She looked speculatively at them, then continued.

"Chinese culture is quite different from ours," she remarked. "I suggest you find out a  
little about it before you go there. You might, at least, learn how to use a pair of  
chopsticks. No doubt Jeanne will be able to help you."

She waved a hand, indicating that they could go.

"Remember," she said warningly, as they were leaving the room, "any news of mischief  
on your part while you are there will result in deduction of points from Gryffindor here."

  
----------* * *-----------

  
With all the extra lessons, in addition to their usual ones, Harry, Ron and Hermione  
found the next few weeks flying by. Before they knew it, the last day had arrived,  
before they left for China.

"I'll never finish all this," moaned Ron, that afternoon in the Gryffindor common room.  
Books were stacked all about the three of them, and sheets of parchment lay all  
over the floor.

Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas were sitting a short distance away, and looked  
up when they heard Ron.

"At first we were pretty jealous when we heard you were going," said Dean,  
grinning, "but now I think we'd rather stay."

Harry closed his spellbook with a snap. His mind felt too tired to continue. He  
looked at Hermione, who seemed to have finished all her homework, and was  
reading Septimus Snufflegint's _Diary Of An English Wizard in China_.

"I can't believe you actually bought that book," he said.

"She bought up every English book she could find in that shop," said Ron sourly.

Hermione turned a page.

"This is an interesting book," she said. "I wonder why we aren't having any Internal  
Magic classes while we're there?"

Ron had taken Hermione's completed History of Magic essay, and was reading  
through it, scowling.

"Internal Magic?" said Harry. "What's that?"

"It's a way of doing spells, without your wand," said Hermione, her eyes still fixed  
on the book. "Snufflegint says the Chinese have been using it for years. He says they  
believe magic exists inside yourself, and you can learn to use it, without the help of  
a wand."

Dean Thomas, who was still listening, looked interested.

"Is that like what they do in all those _Kung Fu_ shows?" he asked. Dean came from  
a family of Muggles.

Ron was still reading Hermione's essay. "What's _Kung Fu_?" he asked absently.

Harry had gone over to Hermione, and was reading over her shoulder.

"No wonder," he said.

Hermione looked back at him. "No wonder what?"

"Jeanne," said Harry. "She's always doing stuff without a wand. She said there were  
a lot of Chinese people, where she was living in Russia. She must have picked it up  
from them."

"Perform spells without a wand?" said Seamus. "But - that would make the Chinese  
more powerful than the rest of us, wouldn't it?"

"Not really," said Hermione, her eyes returning to the book. "Most of what they do  
with Internal Magic, any qualified wizard here can match with a wand. It seems that  
most of them there just use it for mundane things, anyway, like summoning something  
if they're too lazy to get it. To use it for duelling, that's difficult to learn; one has to go  
to a special school for Pugilists."

She looked up and saw Ron copying some points from her essay, and took the essay  
away.

"Haven't you finished _yet_?" she asked. "Hagrid wants us to go over this afternoon.  
We haven't been there for tea since term started, with all the extra classes, and if we  
don't go today, we won't be able to till we come back from China."

"I'll finish soon, if you lend me that," said Ron, trying to take the essay back. They  
started arguing, and Harry, feeling he couldn't do any more work, left them at it,  
and went to look for Jeanne.  
  


Harry hadn't had a chance to talk to Jeanne since term started, although he saw her  
during Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures classes, which she still helped out with,  
occasionally. He had noticed that she did not seem to be wearing her sullen expression  
any more, but tended to look more thoughtful instead.

He spotted her along the corridor, talking to, of all people, Professor Snape. She  
stopped when she saw Harry, excused herself, and came over to him.

"I'm off to Hagrid's now, Harry," she said. "Are you coming for tea? He's been  
missing all of you."

"I am," he assured her. "I was just going to look for you there. Ron and Hermione  
will be coming later."

They made their way out of the castle. Harry looked curiously at her.

"Are you still helping Snape with Potions?" he asked.

She grimaced, and shook her head firmly.

"I've had quite enough of Potions, for a while at least, after last year," she said, smiling  
rather ruefully. "The most I'm doing is helping Severus gather ingredients I happen to  
come across when I'm doing my rounds."

"Are you and Snape still on good terms?" Harry was thinking of some of the things  
he'd heard Snape say the previous term.

She looked surprised.

"I value Severus' regard more, now, actually," she said thoughtfully. "I misjudged  
him last year. He still seems willing to talk to me, though I know he still dislikes Remus."

Harry looked at her.

"Married life seems to agree with you," he remarked. "You look happier now. More -  
well, at peace."

She smiled. "Not so moody any more, you mean?" She paused, as if thinking. "I like  
being married," she admitted candidly. "But it's more than that. The past doesn't haunt  
me so much any moreit's as if what I did last term - you know, sort of made up for it."

Harry felt this was still a sensitive topic, so he decided to change the subject.

"Will you be coming with us to China?" he asked.

She nodded, looking serious.

"Dumbledore has arranged for me to learn some Internal Magic there," she said. "It  
will help me prevent Deorg from possessing me, if our paths meet again."

They had reached Hagrid's now, and were about to go in, when they heard someone  
calling from behind. Turning, they saw Ron and Hermione running to catch up with them.  


Hagrid looked pleased to see them.

"Wish I could go ter China wi' all of yer," he said wistfully. "Yeh're sure ter see  
dragons there. Awf'ly fond o' dragons, the Chinese."

"There won't be any in the school, surely," pointed out Ron. "They're probably not  
allowed there, just like here."

"You're wrong, Ron," said Jeanne, smiling. "Remus and I followed Dumbledore and  
Professor McGonagall to Tian-Long during the school holidays, to look at the school  
and see the Headmistress about the programme. They do have dragons there."

"You've _been_ there?" said Hermione eagerly. "What is it like?"

Jeanne had a teasing smile on her face.

"You'll see," she said. "I don't want to spoil the surprise for you."

"How come you and Professor Lupin are involved in the exchange programme?"  
asked Harry curiously.

"We're not," Jeanne replied. "Dumbledore has been training me to build up defences  
in my mind, so that I can fend off Deorg's attacks, and he wanted Remus to help as  
well. Then we heard that Internal Magic might be a better way to do it, so Dumbledore  
asked us to go along with them, and talk to the Internal Magic master there."

"What did he say?" asked Harry, interested.

"It turned out he wasn't there, at the time," said Jeanne, looking rather rueful. "We  
went there for nothing. We had a good look around the school, though. I had to  
go over again, last week, to meet Master Kung."

Her eyes twinkled as she looked at them.

"I met some of the students who will be your classmates, there," she said.

"You did!" said Ron. "What are they like? Do they speak English?"

Jeanne looked mischievously at them, as if considering whether to keep them in  
suspense, then gave in.

"Most of them are from overseas, actually," she said. "Only two are from mainland  
China. One is from Hong Kong, one from Taiwan, and two from Singapore."

She saw that they were going to ask more, and said firmly, "That's all I'm telling you.  
We shall have some food now. Professor McGonagall said I should teach you how  
to use chopsticks."

She took her wand out, and pointed it at the table. Three small bowls of noodles  
appeared, with three sets of chopsticks, together with three similar bowls of rice.  
Another wave of the wand, and a platter of meat and round dumplings also appeared.

"All right," said Jeanne cheerfully, demonstrating, "you hold the chopsticks, like _this_,  
and take some meat from the main platter, and you pick the noodles up, like _this_."

Hermione had obviously eaten Chinese before, because she was perfectly comfortable  
with the chopsticks. The Dursleys, of course, had never brought Harry to a Chinese  
restaurant, so he was all at sea. Ron appeared no better off.

"You hold the bottom stick still, and just move the top one," said Jeanne helpfully,  
as Harry dropped meat all over the table.

Hagrid sat by, watching and enjoying himself hugely.

"You don't expect me to pick the _rice_ up with these, do you?" said Ron, sounding  
aggrieved, and glaring at his chopsticks in an affronted manner. He tried picking up  
one of the dumplings, which looked like round, pearly balls, and it slipped out and  
rolled off the table onto the floor.

"Oh, I've lost my ball," he said, peering under the table for the dumpling.

Hermione looked disapprovingly at him.

"_Really_," she said, as Fang, Hagrid's boarhound, came over and sniffed interestedly  
at the dumpling, "you're going to disgrace our school if you don't even know how  
to eat properly."

Hagrid chuckled.

"Yeh're not bein' fair, Hermione," he said. "It's the firs' time fer them."

By the end of the meal, Harry felt he'd more or less got the hang of the chopsticks,  
but Ron was still struggling. He was in a very bad mood by the time they were leaving.

"I've spent the whole day on that stupid essay, and I thought we'd get some relaxation  
at Hagrid's, instead of being tortured like this," he muttered to Harry.

"Oh, another thing," Jeanne called anxiously from the window as they were walking  
off, "Professor McGonagall said not to forget to pack your dress robes, in case  
there are any special events there."

Ron's face went even blacker.

"Dress robes!" he snarled, "This is just the moment I need to be reminded of _those_!"

He took his chopsticks out - Jeanne had said they could bring them back to practise  
with - and flung them angrily into some nearby bushes. Then, he stomped off, fuming.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and sighed, and then hurried to catch up with him.

-


	4. Tian-Long Academy of the Magical Arts

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------  
_(The sequel to HP & the Mirror's Gift)_

  
**Chapter IV**

**_Tian-Long Academy of the Magical Arts_**

  
_Above the clouds lies a hidden land  
With mountains and valleys fair.  
The cities there are old and grand,  
And dragons fly through the air.  
Our school, with five pagodas tall,  
Lies on the highest mountain of all._

**T**he Portkey was a slim, upright stone pillar which had been placed just outside   
the Entrance Hall. Harry, Ron and Hermione were standing near it, together with  
their fellow Gryffindors who had come to see them off. Jeanne was standing nearby   
with Professor Lupin. She was wearing green robes, which had an oriental look to  
them, perhaps because of the narrow mandarin-style collar, and long, full sleeves.   
Harry had not been able to recognise her at first; she looked very Chinese in them.

Presently Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle came down the Entrance Hall steps, followed   
by the Slytherins in their class. Malfoy smiled slyly when he saw them.

"Stroke of luck for you, eh, Weasley," he drawled. "Getting a holiday abroad for free.   
Your father'd probably have to work an extra year or two to pay for a trip like this."

Ron started forward, but Harry and Hermione each grabbed one of his arms and held   
him back, because Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape were coming   
down the Entrance Hall steps.

"Eat dung, Malfoy," hissed Ron, in an undertone, shaking Harry and Hermione's hands   
off. Jeanne had come over, as well. As they gathered around, hands on the Portkey,   
Harry noticed that she was still looking at Lupin.

Dumbledore looked at them and said cheerfully, "I need not remind you to uphold the   
name of Hogwarts while you are there. And, don't forget to _enjoy yourselves_."

It was time. Parvati, Lavendar and the others were smiling and waving, while Neville,   
looking as if he wished he was going, called out, "Don't forget to write!" His hand on   
the Portkey, Harry felt that familiar jerking feeling somewhere behind his navel, and   
then they were all speeding forward in a howl of wind and swirling colour.

He felt his feet slam into the ground. They had arrived. Letting go of the stone pillar,   
he and the others looked around with interest.

Evening was coming on, and they were standing on the slope of a high mountain. To   
their right, far down, they could see a city, rooftops shining golden in the setting sun.   
After the city, the land came to an end, and beyond that was a sea of swirling clouds  
in all sorts of fantastic shapes, stretching away in all directions, seemingly to the ends   
of the earth.

Hermione was the first to speak.

"We - we seem to be above the clouds!" she said, looking amazed.

"And you are," said an amused voice.

They turned around. A Chinese witch and wizard were standing nearby, watching them.   
The witch was dressed in yellow silk robes, with a pattern of phoenix in flight embroidered  
all over. Looking at her face, she seemed to Harry to be old, and yet young, at the same  
time. The wizard was old, with a sweeping white beard; his robes were a severe black,   
and unadorned. A long, slender sword was fastened to his belt.

Jeanne turned to the others.

"This is Lady Hsu Wen-Li, the Headmistress of Tian-Long," she said, "and Master Kung  
Xian-Wen, her deputy, and Master of Internal Magic."

The witch and wizard came forward, smiling. Jeanne proceeded to introduce each of the   
students.

"I welcome all of you to China," said Lady Wen-Li, kindly. "I hope that your experience   
at Tian-Long will be an interesting one, and that you will have an enjoyable time while   
you are here." She smiled. "Please follow me. It is a short walk to the school, which is   
at the summit of the mountain."

She, Jeanne and Master Kung began leading the way. Harry and the others let the   
Slytherins go first, and then followed, looking around.

Although they seemed quite high up, it was not cold, and a gentle breeze was blowing.   
Harry had that still and peaceful feeling that was associated with high places, as if one   
were removed from the ordinary world. As they climbed higher, the ground levelled out,   
and they saw the school in the distance for the first time.

It looked like a Chinese Palace. The buildings were white, with deep, overhanging   
curved roofs, concave in shape, the ridges of which carried figurines of various magical   
creatures, mostly dragons. The roof of the main palace, which was golden in colour,   
seemed on fire in the light of the setting sun. Five pagodas rose high up into the air.   
Their roofs were of glazed tiles, each of a different colour : green, red, dull yellow,   
black and white.

They had reached the school gates, which were circular in shape, like a full moon.   
What caught Harry's attention, though, was not the gate, but what was guarding it.

It was a large dragon, sitting to one side, eyes staring balefully at them. It was brown   
in colour, with a fringe of fine spikes around its face. The scales on its long, snakelike   
body glittered in the sunlight.

Lady Wen-Li and Master Kung merely nodded at the dragon, but Jeanne looked at   
it and smiled. The dragon gave her a regal nod, then turned its head to regard the   
nervous students who were following. Malfoy had put Crabbe and Goyle between  
him and the dragon. Ron's hand seemed to be hovering near his belt, as if he wanted   
to take his wand out.

The doors opened, and they entered the Moon-Gate, and made their way through   
the grounds. They reached a stream, and crossed the stone bridge spanning it. Willows  
lined the stream, and small pavilions were scattered here and there.

A handful of students were gathered outside the school entrance. Lady Wen-Li, on   
seeing them, turned to the Hogwarts students and smiled.

"Your classmates are here to greet you," she said. "They will show you to your   
dormitory, and to the Hall, where we will be having dinner."

Jeanne said, "I'll leave you people here, as well, I need to discuss something with   
Master Kung." She smiled, and went off, waving at the Chinese students, who   
waved back at her.

The Chinese students had come up to them. The two groups regarded each other   
bashfully for a moment, and then a wiry boy in black robes with a bushy shock of   
hair came forward.

"I am Wong Chee-Chong," he announced in careful English. "I am pleased to meet   
all of you."

He shook hands all round, and then the others came forward.

"I am Cheung Wing-Fatt," said a chubby, round-faced boy in white robes, with a   
slim sword in a white scabbard at his waist. He had a sing-song way of speaking,   
and his eyes were very small, and twinkled. "You can just call me Fatty," he added.   
He gave a jolly smile, and his eyes disappeared into two little slits.

The next student was a stunningly pretty girl in crimson robes. She had long hair,   
which had been curled, and which had a brown tint to it. Her eyelashes were very   
long, and when she smiled, two charming dimples appeared. She did not appear to   
be shy at all.

"I am Pik Hsiao-Yan," she announced, shaking their hands. "You can call me Pixie."   
She stopped when she came to Ron, and looked appreciatively at him.

"I always find men with red hair very _interesting_," she said, lowering her eyelashes   
and peeking at Ron through them. She then giggled.

Ron went as red as his hair, and Hermione looked rather outraged. Malfoy, Crabbe   
and Goyle sniggered.

Chee Chong said something in Chinese to Pixie, and pushed her aside. He turned to   
the others.

"Don't worry about her," he said to them. "She's the schoo flirt. Half the boys in the   
schoo are in love with her." Chee Chong had a curious way of dropping the 'l' from   
the end of some of his words.

Pixie didn't seem to mind this, and giggled again.

The next girl came forward. She was tall and haughty, and dressed in pale yellow silk   
robes. A phoenix sat on her shoulder, its leg attached to her belt with a golden cord.   
It did not look particularly happy.

"I am Feng Yu-Lin," she said coolly, shaking their hands. She stopped when she came   
to Harry, and looked at his scar. "I am pleased to meet you, Harry Potter," she remarked.   
"I have heard a lot about you."

"Um," said Harry, not knowing quite what to say. He didn't think he particularly liked   
Yu-Lin.

Yu-Lin shook hands with him, as if conferring an honour, and then turned to Malfoy.

"You are Draco Malfoy," she said, shaking his hand. "My father knows your father.   
He informed me you were coming."

Malfoy gave the others a sly smile. "Yes, I know," he drawled.

Hermione turned to Fatty.

"Is everyone here?" she asked. "I thought there were supposed to be twelve of us   
altogether."

"Yes, yes," said Fatty. "The other two are late. Oh, they're here"

A boy and girl, both in green robes, were hurrying up to them. Harry had an odd   
feeling when he saw the girl, as if he ought to know her. Then, he realised why; she  
reminded him of Cho Chang. She was taller and not as pretty as Cho, with short,   
wavy hair and spectacles, but in build and manner they were similar.

"Sorry we're late," she said, sounding out of breath. "We had Jousting practice."

She pushed her spectacles up, as they were slipping off her nose. Harry noticed that   
everything about her seemed to be green; besides her robes, her bag was also green,   
and she wore a green jade dragon pendant at her throat. A little bright green snake,   
with eyes like black dewdrops, peeked out of one her pockets.

"I am Lin Li-Shan," she said. "But everyone just calls me Shan. And this is my cousin,   
Robert Mo."

Robert was tiny. He was more than a head shorter than Shan, and his robes were as   
shabby and patched as Professor Lupin's had once been. The most distinctive thing   
about him, though, was that his spectacles seemed to reflect the surroundings, so that   
one could not quite see his eyes, or tell what his expression was.

Shan and Robert shook hands with the others, and then they all stood around, looking   
at each other.

"We will show you to your dormitory," said Chee Chong suddenly, gesturing with one  
long arm toward one of the pagodas nearby, and whacking Fatty in the face by accident.

"Ouch!" said Fatty, rubbing his eyes. Yu-Lin gave a little titter.

"Sorry, Fatt," said Chee Chong apologetically. Yu-Lin turned to Malfoy.

"You and your friends don't have to stay in the Green Dragon dormitory," she said coolly.  
"My father has written to ask Lady Wen-Li for permission for you to have better quarters  
in Yellow Dragon." She looked at Harry. "You may join us, if you like."

"I'll stay with the rest, thanks," said Harry shortly. He was beginning to like Yu-Lin less   
and less.

Yu-Lin raised her eyebrows haughtily, then turned and languidly led Malfoy, Crabbe   
and Goyle toward another pagoda.

"Good riddance to her," remarked Pixie, looking after them. "Come on," she said   
breezily, catching Ron by the arm. "We're all too shy here. Let _me_ show you the dormitory!"

She led the way to the green-roofed pagoda, propelling Ron by the elbow. The others   
followed, Hermione looking very disapproving.

"You tell your flend to watch out," said Chee Chong. He seemed to be losing his English,   
and was beginning to mix his 'l's and 'r's up. "Xiao-Yan has bloken many boys' hearts."

"Serves him right if she does," snapped Hermione. She was about to continue, when three   
postal dragons suddenly flew over to them, flying low over their heads, and startling them.

The dragons landed on Fatty, one on each shoulder and the third on his head. "Excuse   
me," he said to the others. He took their letters, read them, and then took a lacquer box   
out from inside his robes, still walking forward all the while.

Harry was surprised.

"Do all three dragons belong to him?" he asked Shan, who was next to him, Robert at her   
side like a little shadow.

Shan grinned, and nodded.

"Fatty is from Hong Kong," she said. "His father is a rich businessman. He's always cutting   
some deal of his own, watch him."

Fatty had taken a crystal globe out of the lacquer box, and taking his sword from his   
waist, transformed it swiftly into a wand. He tapped the globe with the wand; another   
wizard's face appeared in the globe, and the two started having an animated conversation.

"How did he do that to the sword?" said Harry in surprise, looking at the wand, which   
Fatty had now stuck into his belt.

"All our wands transform naturally into swords, and staffs," said Shan. She took her   
wand from her belt, and swiftly transformed it into a large sword, then into a long   
wooden staff. "Duelling with the sword and staff is an old tradition here. But most   
of the time, it's more convenient to keep them as wands." She twirled the staff several   
times, then transformed it back into a wand, and stuck it back into her belt.

Chee Chong had transformed his wand into a sword as well, and handed it to Harry for   
inspection. The scabbard was old and worn, but the blade inside gleamed as if new from   
the forge. Harry saw that it was made of peritin, the same material from which Starlight   
jewellery was usually made.

"Our swords cannot harm physically," said Shan, seeing their interest in the sword. To   
Harry and Hermione's horror, she took Chee Chong's sword and sliced it completely   
through her arm, then held her arm up to show them that it was unharmed. "They're  
used mostly to deflect curses, or disrupt arcane spells."

She handed Chee Chong's sword back to him. Fatty had finished with the wizard,   
and tapped the globe with his wand again. Another wizard appeared, and Fatty   
began to talk excitedly to him.

"What is he saying?" asked Hermione, listening with interest.

"We don't know," said Chee Chong. "He is speaking Cantonese. That is the dialect   
they use in Hong Kong. Most of us only speak Mandarin."

"He shouldn't be doing that," remarked Shan. "We've been given strict orders to   
speak only English while we're with you. But nothing stops Fatty from doing business,   
I guess."

Hermione looked curiously at Shan and Chee Chong's robes. The Chinese students'   
robes were like Jeanne's, with narrow collars and long, full sleeves.

"Why are all your robes of different colours?" she asked. "Isn't there a standard uniform?"

"We wear the colours of our Houses," explained Shan. "I'm in Green Dragon, with Robert.   
Chee Chong is in Black Tortoise, Fatty is in White Tiger, and Pixie is in Crimson Phoenix.   
Yu-Lin is in Yellow Dragon."

"That must be the equivalent of Slytherin, here," muttered Harry to Hermione.

Shan looked interested.

"Is that the House Draco Malfoy is in?" she asked. "Yellow Dragon is not all bad, but   
most of the nobility are in it, and most of the rich people too." Robert was still by her   
side, keeping silent and looking straight ahead. Harry found him slightly unnerving.

Fatty had finished with the second wizard and was now talking to a third.

"Brack Tortoise is the House with the not-so-smart people," said Chee Chong   
gloomily. "That is why I am there."

Shan patted him on the shoulder.

"That's not true, Chong," she said.

"How do you get sorted into your Houses?" asked Harry curiously.

Shan pushed her spectacles up her nose again, and looked at him.

"We have five magical House animals," she said. "They do the choosing. All the   
first-years line up in a row, and the animals go up to the ones who should be in   
their House. The Tortoise always takes the longest, so they usually let him start first."

"How interesting," said Hermione, looking enthusiastic. "What a pity we won't get to   
see that."

"You can see each House animal at the entrance to the House Pagodas," said Shan.   
"There's mine, now."

She pointed at a green dragon which was perched over the large entrance of the   
green-roofed pagoda. Ron hesitated, as if loath to enter underneath the dragon,   
but Pixie was already dragging him in.

"_Honestly_," Hermione hissed in Harry's ear, "The _way _Ron is behaving!"

Fatty had finished with the third wizard. He dropped the globe back into the lacquer   
box, and took a large seal out instead. Taking his three letters, he stamped each of   
them with the seal, and then tied one to each dragon, which then flew off. He then   
tucked both seal and lacquer box away in his robes, and came to join them as they   
entered the Pagoda, humming and looking pleased with himself.

There were two large spiral staircases in the foyer inside. The stairs in one seemed   
to be moving upward all the time, while those in the other were moving downward,   
vanishing into the floor as they touched it.

"We're on the top floor," said Shan, stepping onto the upward-moving stairs behind   
Robert, who was going up first. "Fatty and Chee Chong will be sleeping in your   
dorm for these two months, instead of with their own Houses."

When they reached the top, they found Pixie and Ron admiring the view.

"That's the Celestial City," said Pixie, as they came up to join them. She pointed at   
the city below. The light was fading now, and the city was full of twinkling lights.

"Each student gets a night out, once a month, if his net number of demerits is zero,"   
Pixie added, dimpling at them. "We can show you around the city, then." Her eyes   
fell on Ron as she said this. Hermione frowned.

Robert, Chee Chong and Fatty had gone inside the boys' dormitory. Harry, noticing   
this, turned to Shan. The little green snake in her pocket was peeking out at him.

"This is LeafSong, my pet snake," she said, smiling, when she saw him looking at it.   
"Don't worry, she's not poisonous."

LeafSong looked at him with bright eyes, before disappearing back inside the   
pocket. Harry looked at Shan.

"Is Robert all right?" he whispered, so that the others wouldn't hear. "I mean, he   
doesn't have anything against us, does he?"

Shan laughed.

"No, no, it's just Robert," she said. "He's just very quiet. He never says a word   
unless he has to."

Pixie heard her, and came over.

"Your cousin frightens me, Shan," she said, dimpling. "Why don't you ask him   
to change his glasses? Then we can tell what he's thinking."

"He's fine as he is, Xiao-Yan," said Shan, bristling and glaring at her.

Pixie giggled.

"Shan is very protective of Robert," she said to Harry. "But you can't always let   
him stick to you," she added, to Shan, "otherwise, how are you going to find a   
boyfriend?"

Shan, obviously used to Pixie's nonsense, didn't bother to reply to this. Harry   
privately thought he preferred Robert to Pixie, who was beginning to irritate him.

Hermione looked disapprovingly at Pixie, then cleared her throat and said,   
"Let's have a look at the dorms."

Harry went into the boys' dormitory together with Ron. His trunk had arrived   
earlier, and Hedwig was there, in her cage. Pigwidgeon was twittering away   
on top of Ron's trunk.

He had a Chinese-style, canopied bed, with six narrow posts and inlaid with   
marble. The bed was made of rosewood, intricately carved, and had cushions   
upholstered in Chinese silk. Chinese lanterns lit the room. Large windows ran   
along the entire room, giving a good view of the surrounding mountains and the   
sea of fantastically-shaped, swirling clouds.

Fatty was fixing a string of coins to the foot of his bed.

"For good _feng-shui_," he told Harry.

Harry was going to ask what _feng-shui_ was, when Pixie breezed into the room.   
"Dinnertime!" she announced. "We have to go to the Hall!"

"Xiao-Yan, you cannot come in here!" exclaimed Chee Chong, looking scandalized.   
He started pushing her out of the room, almost knocking Pigwidgeon's cage over   
in the process. Pixie giggled.

"Chee Chong is always so proper," she called, as she disappeared out the door.

They joined the girls, who were already waiting outside, and started down the   
downward-moving spiral staircase. Corridors branched off the stairs at each   
floor, and Shan, who was near the back, suddenly called out, "Next floor!   
We're getting off here!"

Fatty and Chee Chong, who were right in front, had missed the floor.   
Fortunately, the stairs were moving fairly slowly, so they managed to run   
back up again.

"Fatt and I have not been in Gleen Dragon Pagoda before," panted Chee   
Chong, almost tripping as he scrambled off the stairs. Shan and Robert   
were now in front, leading the way.

"Erare we using chopsticks during dinner?" asked Ron, looking rather   
apprehensive.

Pixie giggled.

"Don't you know how to use chopsticks?" she asked. "Don't worry," she   
dimpled at him, "_I'll_ help you!"

She said this so suggestively that Harry had a sudden image of Pixie feeding   
Ron with a pair of chopsticks. Ron had obviously thought of the same thing,   
because he went red again.

They went through richly furnished corridors; the floors were carpeted in deep   
red, and the walls were lined with large paintings on scrolls, and silk tapestries.   
Harry and Hermione looked curiously at them. One painting was of a thickly  
forested mountain. The tiny figures of three people and a mule were at the foot   
of the mountain, slowly moving along a footpath.

Another painting, done on silk, showed three Chinese maidens washing clothes   
in a river. They stopped when they saw Harry and Hermione, and started giggling   
and talking excitedly, pointing at them.

"Guess they haven't seen any non-Chinese people before," murmured Hermione.

"There's the Hall," said Pixie, in front with Ron, pointing at a brightly-lit entrance   
in the distance, at the end of the corridor. "The Hall of a Thousand Dragons."

Other corridors branched out to the left and right of them. Chee Chong, looking   
down one, suddenly called, "Watch out!"

Before they could react, a blast of air swept out into the corridor, slamming into   
them. Ron and Pixie overbalanced, and fell to the floor. Harry could feel himself   
being blown away. He grabbed at a nearby table, and it fell over. There was a   
crashing sound in his ears, and he found himself lying on the ground, feeling slightly   
stunned, and too dazed to get up.

- 


	5. The Hall of A Thousand Dragons

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------  
_(The sequel to HP & the Mirror's Gift)_

  
**Chapter V**

**_The Hall of A Thousand Dragons_**

  
_...The dragon, floating in watery vapours, like a dense mist,  
with thunder-roll and lightning-flash, high aloft he races;  
Mounting the void, treading the dark sky,  
Racing the wind, driving the rain, he wanders without end._

_~ Ch'u Tzu,  
The Songs of the South_

**H**arry lay where he was for a few seconds, then sat up. A mischievous-looking   
ghost was swooping out of the side corridor. He had a sack in his hand, which he   
suddenly pulled open. Another blast of air came out of it, pushing the students in   
front of him back down the corridor.

Harry, feeling himself being blown away again, held on to the thick carpet under him,   
which fortunately seemed firmly attached to the floor. The broken pieces of a blue   
and white vase that had been on the table lay all about him. The pieces were being   
blown away in the wind, and he desperately stuck a leg out to block them from doing so.

The ghost swooped around, laughing nastily. He seemed about to pull his sack of wind   
open again, when another ghost came flying down the corridor. He was carrying a bow   
and wore a quiver of arrows, and he had a fiery object like a small burning sun in his   
hand. Aiming quickly, he threw the fiery ball at the mischievous ghost.

The Wind Ghost swore in Chinese, and dodged the ball. Clutching his sack of wind,   
he tore away down the corridor in the direction of the Pagoda. The fiery ball swung   
around and came back to rest in the hand of the Archer, who then hurtled down the   
corridor after the other ghost.

Shan and the others, who had been in front and beyond the reach of the wind, now   
came back to help Chee Chong, Ron, Pixie and Hermione up.

"The naughty ghost was Fei Lian," said Shan, brushing dust off Hermione's robes,   
"and the archer is Shen Yi. He is the only one who can keep Fei Lian in check."

"We have a ghost like that at Hogwarts," said Ron. "You'll get to meet him."

Harry had returned the overturned table to its original position, and was looking   
at the broken vase in dismay. Robert, however, had come over to him. Taking his   
wand out, he pointed it at the pieces, and muttered something in Chinese. The   
pieces flew back up onto the table and together into one vase again, looking as   
good as new.

Harry looked at Robert with dawning respect.

"Thanks," he said.

Robert just gave a small smile, and then went back to Shan's side.

They started off toward the Hall again. The door they were approaching appeared   
to be a side door, for on going in they saw groups of students, in their robes of   
green, yellow, white, black and red, entering through the larger main entrance to   
the left.

Hermione grabbed Harry's arm.

"Look at the walls and ceiling!" she exclaimed.

Harry looked up. The ceiling and upper walls were alive with movement. They   
were covered with frescoes of hundreds of glittering golden dragons and phoenix,   
all flying and swooping around in an endless dance. He watched them for a while,   
then felt dizzy, and looked down again.

Pixie giggled. "Pretty, aren't they?"

The Hall of Dragons was almost as large as the Great Hall at Hogwarts. It was   
filled with round tables, in five groups, each group having tablecloths in the colour   
of its respective House. Shan was leading them to their table which was with Green   
Dragon House, and had a forest green tablecloth. To Harry's dismay, Yu-Lin,   
Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were already seated there, not looking too pleased.   
Yu-Lin obviously hadn't been able to get a separate table for the four of them.

The boy students sitting at the other tables all turned to look at Pixie as she passed   
them. She gave them a beaming, coquettish smile, leaving them all looking rather   
weak in the knees, and joined the others at the green table.

"Your friend Chien-Mei is coming," she said to Ron, as they sat down.

Ron looked puzzled.

"Chien-Mei?" he said. "Who's that?"

Pixie giggled.

"Don't you know her Chinese name?" she asked. "I mean, Jeanne."

Harry turned around. He couldn't see Jeanne at first, until she had almost come   
right up to them. In Hogwarts, she had always stood out because she looked   
Chinese, but here she blended in with the crowd.

"How are you all getting along?" she asked, smiling.

"Wonderfully," purred Pixie, giving Ron a sidelong glance. Hermione looked   
disgusted.

"I didn't know your name was Chien-Mei," said Harry, looking at Jeanne in   
surprise.

"The Chinese gave me that name, in Russia," explained Jeanne. "It's easier for   
them to use that, here."

Shan looked up at her and smiled.

"Are you sitting with us?" she asked hopefully.

Jeanne shook her head.

"Lady Wen-Li told me to join her table," she said. She noticed little Robert,   
next to Shan, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"How are you, Robert?" she asked, looking at him fondly.

Robert looked up at her, his glasses reflecting the surroundings.

"OK," he replied mildly.

Jeanne noticed Lady Wen-Li going over to the teacher's table.

"I'd better go," she said. "I'll see you later."

"Join us for Jousting again!" called Shan, as Jeanne turned to go.

Malfoy smiled slyly as he watched Jeanne walking off.

"She obviously has a thing for wizards in shabby robes," he drawled, looking   
insolently at Robert.

Robert looked as deadpan as ever, but Shan flushed, and looked angry.   
However, she obviously considered Malfoy to be a guest in her school,   
and said nothing.

Harry wasn't so restrained. Malfoy was giving Hogwarts a bad name.

"Shut up, Malfoy," he said angrily.

Hermione hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

"What is all this about Jousting?" she quickly asked Shan.

Fatty chuckled.

"It's one of our sports," he said. "Shan and Robert are Jousting Queen and   
King of Tian-Long. They are why Green Dragon have won the Golden Dragon   
the last four years in a row."

Shan went rather pink, but Robert looked as expressionless as ever.

Malfoy looked disbelievingly at tiny Robert. He obviously didn't think Robert   
capable of performing a useful role in any sport.

"Right, but what is Jousting?" asked Ron, looking rather bewildered.

Pixie gave her customary giggle.

"It's duelling in the air," she said. "On dragons. One student controls the dragon,   
and the other student tries to unseat their opponent."

Malfoy looked disbelieving.

"On _dragons_?" he said. "How can anyone sit on a dragon?"

"We use the Common Bronzebacks for that," said Shan, ignoring Malfoy, and   
looking at Hermione. "The wild ones are dangerous, of course, but those reared   
by the school are tame. If you feed them a certain herb, they won't be able to   
produce fire for a while, so they're quite safe."

Lady Wen-Li had stood up at her table. She raised a hand for silence, then   
began speaking to the students in Chinese.

"She is announcing your arrival here," whispered Fatty to the Hogwarts students.   
"You must stand up and bow."

The students in the Hall were all looking at them now. Lady Wen-Li smiled and   
nodded at them.

Feeling rather embarrassed, Harry and the others got to their feet and bowed.  
The students all clapped enthusiastically.

Lady Wen-Li now pointed her wand at a huge gong nearby, and a bolt of light   
flew toward it, hitting it and producing a deep, resonant sound.  
Dishes of food appeared on the circular tray in the middle of the table, and   
bowls of rice appeared in front of each person with a small _pop_! To Harry's   
relief, Pixie was behaving herself, and was filling Ron's plate with food. A   
Chinese soup spoon came along with the chopsticks, and Ron was managing   
to survive by shovelling his rice onto the spoon and then eating from that.

"You will not win the Jousting this year," said Yu-Lin in a superior tone, looking   
at Robert, who was sitting next to her. "Yellow Dragon has two excellent new   
Jousters whom you will find hard to beat."

Fatty chuckled, his small eyes disappearing into two slits.

"I've seen them, Yu-Lin," he said in his sing-song voice. "They are good, but   
they still cannot beat Lin Li-Shan and Robert Mo. That's why we call Robert   
Mighty Mo. Right, Robert?"

Robert looked as impassive as ever, and didn't reply. He didn't seem to be very   
hungry, and was just picking at his food.

Yu-Lin gave a disdainful smirk.

"_Midget_ Mo, I would rather say," she said, in a sneering tone. Then she looked   
at Robert and said something in Chinese, so that Harry and the other Hogwarts   
students couldn't understand, but which sounded insulting enough, in tone.

Harry expected Shan to rush to Robert's defence, as usual, but to his surprise, the   
Chinese students all seemed to be looking at Robert and holding their breath.   
Shan's lips twitched, as if she was trying not to laugh.

Robert looked impassively at Yu-Lin. Then, he lowered his gaze, and looked   
at Yu-Lin's plate, which was covered with vegetables.

Yu-Lin also looked down at her plate, and then she suddenly leapt up in fright,   
screaming for all she was worth. The phoenix on her shoulder gave a startled   
squawk, and tried flying away, but was unable to, because of the golden cord   
binding its leg.

There was a sudden silence in the Hall. Everyone had turned to look at Yu-Lin.

One of the teachers came over from the teacher's table. She was not very tall,   
but she had a very firm mouth and a direct gaze. She was dressed in dark blue   
robes, and a small, sparkling crystal ball hung on a chain round her neck.

She snapped something at Yu-Lin in Chinese. Yu-Lin, still trembling, started   
talking shrilly and pointed at Robert, and then at her plate of vegetables.

The dark blue witch fingered her crystal ball, and looked at it. Little lights   
appeared in the ball, shimmering for a while, then disappeared. The witch then   
said something coolly to Yu-Lin, who went rather red, and was silent.

The witch stared coldly at Yu-Lin for a moment, then went back to the teacher's   
table. Yu-Lin returned to her seat. She seemed frightened of Robert now,   
refusing to look at him, and sitting as far away from him as she could, at the   
edge of her seat. She would not touch her vegetables, either.

The Hogwarts students all looked mystified. Malfoy looked at Robert with   
narrowed eyes, but refrained from making any more insulting comments.

Robert looked as calm as ever, and continued picking at his food. Shan winked   
at Harry and whispered, "Tell you about it later." Pixie's eyes were dancing; Fatty   
whispered something to Chee Chong, and the two of them dissolved into laughter.

Yu-Lin looked at them angrily, but said nothing. Harry noticed a rather revengeful   
gleam in her eyes, however.

Pixie's eyes suddenly twinkled naughtily. She looked at Crabbe and Goyle, who   
were wolfing their food down, like two starving trolls.

"Do you know what you are eating?" she asked brightly. "Let me tell you." She   
started pointing at the different dishes. "This is snake meat; this is monkey's brains.   
And this is steamed crocodile."

Crabbe and Goyle spat out their mouthfuls of food, and started gulping down   
Chinese tea. Malfoy choked and started coughing. Harry, Ron and Hermione   
stopped chewing, and were looking at Pixie in dismay. Pixie, looking at their   
faces, promptly dissolved into helpless laughter.

"Xiao-Yan!" said Shan, looking at her crossly. She turned to the three Slytherins.

"Don't believe her," she said quickly. "I apologise on her behalf. The food is just   
common stuff - the dishes were chicken, minced pork, and fish."

Malfoy looked livid, but said nothing. After what Robert had done, he obviously   
didn't dare make himself unpopular at the table. He, Crabbe and Goyle tried to   
continue eating, but they seemed to have lost their appetites now, and merely   
picked at the food, as Robert was doing.

The meal progressed in silence for a while. Pixie was eating demurely, while   
the other Chinese students, obviously feeling she had embarrassed all of them,   
were directing cross looks at her. Finally, Hermione tried to start the   
conversation going again.

"How were all of you selected for the exchange programme?" she asked.

Pixie giggled maddeningly.

"All those interested in applying had to take an English test," she said. "The top   
six students got in."

"We will be attending classes with you," said Fatty, looking relieved that the  
conversation was going again, "but we still have to attend our regular classes."

"Our classes with you will be basic ones," Shan added, "things we already   
learned in first or second year."

Harry was pleased to hear this. He hoped this meant their workload would   
not be too bad, especially as a lot of his Hogwarts assignments still remained   
unfinished. Hermione, however, looked disappointed.

"I suppose there's no time for us to learn anything very advanced in two   
months," she said.

"Lady Wen-Li actually meant the exchange to be more cultural than anything,"   
explained Shan, pushing her glasses up her nose again. "She's anxious for the   
Chinese students to interact with people from outside China. Too bad, though,"   
- she grinned - "of the top six who passed the English test, only two are from   
mainland China."

Ron looked interested.

"Which ones?" he asked.

"Me and Yu-Lin," said Chee Chong gloomily. "Pixie is flom Taiwan. Fatty is   
flom Hong Kong. Shan and Robert are flom Singapore."

Dinner had ended. The gong boomed again, and students began filing out of   
the Hall. Pixie sat where she was, smiling and fluttering her eyelashes at the   
various boys who were trying to catch her attention as they went past. Ron   
scowled.

Yu-Lin got up and marched out, head held high, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle   
quickly following. Harry was just going to ask Shan for an explanation for   
what had happened earlier, when a crowd of young Chinese students suddenly   
descended upon their table, surrounding him.

They were crowding around Harry, chattering away in Chinese like a flock of   
excited birds, and holding out pieces of parchment and what looked like long,   
slim paintbrushes to him. He could see Hermione and the others outside the   
circle of students, looking at him in a bewildered fashion.

Harry tried to get out of his seat and push his way out of the crowd, but the   
students wouldn't let him out. They were pushing the pieces of parchment   
into his face, and he felt several brushes being stuffed into his hand.

Shan spoke to one of the students, and then managed to wriggle her way in,   
and looked at him with a twinkle in her eye.

"Harry," she said, looking as if she was trying not to laugh, "I think they want   
your autograph!"

Harry was stunned. "What?"

The students seemed very young, no more than first-year. The majority seemed   
to be little girls, rosy-cheeked and with their hair braided into long pigtails.   
They were all chattering and laughing and peering at his scar, and prodding   
him curiously with their fingers.

"Just sign, Harry," he heard Hermione calling impatiently from outside the wall   
of students. "Then we can get out of here."

Harry looked at the brushes in his hand.

"I don't know how to use these," he said to the students, irritably pushing away   
the ones who were still curiously prodding him.

"Hang on," he heard Fatty's voice saying. Through a gap in the crowd, he saw   
Fatty pull a quill out of his lacquer box, and push it through the wall of students   
at him.

Harry signed until his hand ached. He noticed that some of the students he'd   
already signed autographs for were now pushing second and third pieces of   
parchment at him, and pushed them crossly away.

"That's enough!" he said, getting to his feet. They crowded round him again,   
laughing and chattering, and he shouted over their heads.

"Shan! Can't you tell them to back off?"

Shan and the others seemed to be trying to talk to the students, who just giggled   
and shook their heads. Finally, Harry saw Shan appealing to Robert.

Robert took his wand out, and pointed it at the students. The signed autographs   
all flew into the air, and started floating out of the Hall. The students all squealed   
in dismay, and started chasing after them, eventually disappearing through the   
main entrance.

Fatty looked rather worried.

"Was that wise?" he asked Robert. "If they lose the autographs, they will just   
come back and pester Harry for more."

Robert looked unperturbed.

"Don't worry," he said. "They'll stop floating once they reach the end of the   
corridor." And then he lapsed into silence again.

Harry, feeling rather ruffled and red in the face and still surprised at what had   
just happened, started hurrying out of the Hall before any of the first-years   
could come back. He could hear Ron behind him, telling a giggling Pixie   
about Ginny and Colin Creevey, and he turned around and glared at him.

Hermione, taking pity on him, tried changing the subject.

"What did Robert do to Yu-Lin?" she asked Fatty.

Fatty started laughing again.

"Yu-Lin said Robert turned her vegetables into a big, hairy spider," he said.   
"It seems that that is what she fears most."

Ron, who was also afraid of spiders, turned rather pale.

"But, I only saw vegetables on her plate," he said.

"We do not know how Mighty Mo does it," said Fatty, looking at Robert who   
was walking at Shan's side as usual, like a little green shadow. "We only know   
no one in the school dares to bully him, even though he is so small."

"Tell us what you did, Yuan-Ming," said Pixie coaxingly.

Harry wondered who Yuan-Ming was, but he guessed it must be Robert's   
Chinese name.

Robert just continued walking.

"No," he said mildly.

"Shan should know," said Chee Chong, looking at Shan.

"I don't," she said, glancing at Robert. "He won't tell me. I think it's because   
he's so good at Internal Magic. He seems to know how to draw out an image   
of the thing that frightens a person the most."

"But - who was that teacher who came over?" asked Hermione, "And what   
was that crystal thing around her neck?"

Pixie giggled.

"That was Lady Han-Yin, the Discipline Mistress," she said. "You'll get to   
meet her againshe'll be teaching us Potions."

"Oh," said Ron, not very enthusiastically.

"Lady Han-Yin is all right, Ron," Shan assured him. "She's strict, but fair."

"But what was that crystal thing?" Harry wanted to know.

"The Discipline Master or Mistress normally uses it," said Shan. "We are not   
allowed to do magic outside class, unless it is practice for homework. However   
we can perform spells in self-defence if someone wrongly provokes or bullies us.   
The crystal can judge who is in the right and who is wrong."

Pixie looked pleased.

"She gave Yu-Lin five demerits, just now," she said smugly.

  
-------* * *-------

  
Later, before going to bed, Harry found himself at one of the large dormitory   
windows, looking out at the school grounds and the surrounding mountains,   
and thinking about the day's events. They had hardly arrived, and a lot   
seemed to have happened already.

Ron, seeing him, also came over.

"Well, how d'you find it?" he asked, resting his arms on the window sill, and   
looking out.

"OK," said Harry. He looked at the swirling clouds in the distance, dimly visible   
in the pale moonlight.

"Everything here looks so different from Hogwarts," he said. "The scenery, the   
palace, the grounds, the students' robes. Even the food's different. But the   
peopleI guess you find all types, wherever you go. Yu-Lin's nasty, like Malfoy.   
Chee Chong's accident prone, like Neville. Pixie's not as wicked as Fred and   
George, but she looks as if she could be, if she wanted to. Except for Yu-Lin,   
they're OK. I like them, actually."

"So do I," said Ron absently, resting his face in his hands, and looking out of the   
window. Harry suspected he was thinking of Pixie.

They stood there, talking quietly for a while, and wondering what was happening   
back at Hogwarts. Then, Fatty cheerfully called, "Lights out!" They hurried over   
to their beds, and got in. Robert pointed his wand at the Chinese lanterns, and the   
room plunged into darkness.

Harry lay in bed for a while, unused to the feeling of silk on his skin. His eyes soon   
adjusted to the dim light, and looking out of the nearest window, he could see stars   
shining brightly, up in the sky. They were the same constellations that he was used   
to seeing, back home, and this was oddly comforting, as if he were looking at an   
old friend. He lay there, watching the stars twinkling and sparkling up in the sky,   
and then before he knew it, he was asleep.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Some Chinese Notes:**

Since most people aren't familiar with the Chinese language, and in order not to overload the   
reader with too many Chinese names, I have given a number of the characters English names, and I   
chose Chinese names which are relatively easy to pronounce. Only a few have been taken from   
well-known Chinese classics or folklore.

About pronunciation - I can't explain every single Chinese name mentioned   
here, but I think I should at least mention that Shan is pronounced as   
"Sharn", while Xiao-Yan is pronounced as "Hsiao-Yen".

"Fatty" and "Pixie" are just nicknames. It might be confusing, but I thought it more natural to have  
the Chinese students call one another by their Chinese names. Robert is the only one with an   
English name, because he is from Singapore where the main medium of communication is in   
English. "Wing-Fatt" is a typical Hong Kong name. "Fatt" is Cantonese for "prosperous" (same   
as Chow Yun-Fatt, the Hong Kong actor in Anna and the King together with Jodie Foster).

Tian-Long means "_Celestial Dragon_".

The names of the school houses were taken from the 5 elements of nature,   
which is the Chinese theory of creation :

wood -- spring -- east -- green -- green dragon  
fire -- summer -- south -- red -- red bird  
earth -- [none] -- center -- yellow -- yellow dragon  
metal -- autumn -- west -- white -- white tiger  
water -- winter -- north -- black -- black tortoise

  
Fei Lian is the Chinese god of the wind, which he carries in a bag. He is a trouble-stirrer,   
but is kept in check by the Heavenly Archer Shen Yi, the sun god.

The idea of Internal Magic was adapted from the concept of Internal Energy used   
in Chinese martial arts, which is often depicted in TV and movies as giving pugilists   
almost magical powers.

Feel free to email me at **gryffindor1970@yahoo.com** if you have any questions. :o) ~Kim/Starlight

-


	6. The Bouncing Pandas

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------

  
**Chapter VI**

**_The Bouncing Pandas_**

  
_I spied a hawk above one day,  
It came from far away.  
It brought me gifts, and said to me,  
"Your heart is sad, but do not fear;  
The one you loved is coming back,  
Though you will not be here.  
Guard well the gifts, and there will come  
A day when justice will be done."_

**H**arry woke up the next morning to the loud ringing of a bell. He sat up, and saw   
Ron also sitting up in bed, bleary-eyed and half-asleep. A quick look out the window   
showed that the sun had just risen over the mountains.

Robert and Chee Chong were already up, but Fatty, almost invisible under his blankets,   
was still fast asleep and snoring. After several ineffectual pokes and prods, Robert finally   
took his wand out and pointed it at Fatty's inert form. A bright spark of light shot out and  
hit the round lump under the blankets. Fatty gave a loud grunt of protest, and shot out   
of bed, blankets and all, landing with a loud thump on the floor.

They hurried off to the Hall, joined by a crowd of students, all dressed in green robes.   
Yu-Lin and the Slytherins were already there, but seemed to be ignoring the rest of them.   
Breakfast consisted of steaming bowls of rice porridge. Harry was fervently hoping no   
one else was going to ask him for an autograph, but the minute the gong sounded, another   
flock of chattering first-years came over and surrounded him again.

Fatty fished the quill out of his lacquer box, and Harry, looking things not lawful to be uttered,   
started signing as fast as he could. He felt sure some of the students were the same ones he'd  
seen the previous evening.

"Hurry up, Harry," Hermione's voice came floating over the wall of pink-cheeked little girls,   
"we've got to go for Potions soon."

Harry scribbled his name on another three pieces of parchment, then stood up and indicated   
he was leaving.

The little girls all smiled and giggled at him, refusing to make way. He was just going to   
call Robert for assistance, when a large, dark figure approaching from the teacher's table   
caught his eye.

The first-years noticed it too. Uttering little squeaks of fright, they turned and hurried out of   
the Hall, still clutching their precious pieces of parchment, like a flock of startled birds.

Harry looked at the dark figure. It was a wizard, whom he had not noticed before. As Harry   
looked at him, the first word that came to mind was 'warrior'.

He was broad-shouldered and very tall, and was dressed in sweeping black robes with a long,   
flowing black cloak. His long, black hair cascaded down onto his shoulders, and his beard   
partially hid a fierce, cruel face. A long sabre hung at his side, and a black onyx tiger hung   
on a chain around his neck.

He did not look at them, but strode swiftly past, vanishing out the main entrance, his cloak   
billowing behind him.

Ron looked startled.

"Who's that?" he asked Pixie, who was next to him.

She did not giggle as usual, but grinned rather nervously.

"That's Master Yang-Kang," she said. "He teaches Protection Against The Black Way."

Ron looked puzzled. Hermione, noticing this, said rather impatiently, "That's the equivalent of   
Defence Against The Dark Arts here, Ron."

"That means he'll be teaching us, won't he?" said Harry, as they hurried off to the Potions  
classroom.  
  
Shan nodded.

"He's only been here for two weeks," she said. "The previous master, Master Wei, left to   
join Shao-Lin Academy - that's a school for Pugilists. It's a pity, though, he was a very good   
teacher."

Harry wanted to ask what sort of teacher Master Yang-Kang was, but they had reached the   
Potions classroom.

The room was a great deal more cheerful than the Potions dungeon at Hogwarts. The morning   
sun came in the open door, and the surrounding mountains could be seen through the large windows.

Lady Han-Yin, in her dark blue robes and with crystal ball hanging round her neck, was   
already there. She looked less fierce now, and surveyed them as they took their seats, a   
smile playing about her lips.

"Good morning to all of you," she said briskly. "Lady Wen-Li has informed me that this   
exchange is to be more of a cultural one than anything, and so we shall do something   
less serious today."

She paused, and looked at them, her eyes twinkling, before continuing.

"First of all, I am going to split you up. No sticking to people from the same school today.   
I want each Hogwarts student to sit with a Tian-Long student."

Ron and Harry, who were sitting together, looked at each other. Pixie hissed, "Over here!"  
at Ron, and pointed at the empty seat beside her. Robert, who was of course sitting next to   
Shan, got up and went and sat with Goyle, who inched away from him to the edge of his seat.

Yu-Lin was sitting with Malfoy. Shan came over and sat with Harry, while Chee Chong   
moved over to Hermione. Fatty placidly went over to sit with Crabbe. As he took his seat,   
a loud ringing sound suddenly emerged from the depths of his robes.

Lady Han-Yin's eyes flashed.

"Wing-Fatt!" she said sharply, "Did I not tell you to _switch that thing off_ in my class?"

Fatty, his face going red, hurriedly brought his lacquer box out, and took the crystal globe,   
which was ringing shrilly, out of it. He tapped it with his wand, and the ringing stopped abruptly.

Lady Han-Yin snapped her fingers.

"Bring it here," she said. "You can have it back at the end of the class."

"But I'm waiting for an important call!" Fatty protested.

She made a quick movement with her hand, and the globe sailed into the air and over to her desk.

"It can be put on hold, for now," she said, tapping it with her wand. The light in the globe   
dimmed, and went out. "You can make your calls later."

Fatty looked rather sulky, but sat down without saying anything further.

Lady Han-Yin then announced that they would prepare what was called a Token of Friendship   
Potion that day, and proceeded to identify the various ingredients they would be using, which   
were already lying in a small pile at each of their tables. Harry looked at them with interest.   
Most of them were unfamiliar to him.

"All right, you may start work," Lady Han-Yin clapped her hands smartly. She then proceeded   
from table to table, checking that they were preparing the ingredients properly.

"Cut the ganoderma into pieces of equal size, Mr Potter," she said to Harry. She looked at   
Shan, who was trying to break deer antler into small pieces. "Those are to be _ground_, Li-Shan;   
use the mortar and pestle."

Shan went pink, but grinned at Harry, and began pounding the deer antler with her pestle.

Pixie was looking serious for once, frowning and clumsily chopping her piece of ginseng into   
small, irregular slices.

"I like Lady Han-Yin, but I hate Potions," she whispered to Ron.

Lady Han-Yin came over and stopped in front of her.

"Yes, Miss Xiao-Yan!" she said with mock severity, hands on her hips, her eyes flashing   
with good humour. "Are you in my class again? Do not tell me that you are going to ask me   
for an anti-Love Potion again, today!"

Pixie dimpled at her, and cast a sidelong glance at Ron through her long eyelashes.

"No ma'am," she said demurely, "Certainly, not _anti_-Love, this time."

Ron went beet red, and his knife slipped, almost cutting his fingers.

Lady Han-Yin looked amused.

"So she has attached herself to you, Mr Weasley," she said. "Well, I need not tell you :   
do not take any nonsense from her!"

She then told Pixie to stop cutting the ginseng, because it could be stewed, whole, and   
went off to check on Malfoy and Yu-Lin.

Pixie, muttering to herself, dropped the ginseng into her cauldron with a splash. "I'm   
horrible at this. All that cutting for nothing."

When everyone's solution was ready, Lady Han-Yin told each student to obtain a   
piece of something, like a hair, from the student next to him or her.

Harry jerked one of his unruly hairs out and gave it to Shan, who did likewise. He could   
hear Pixie giggling from behind, but decided not to see what she and Ron were doing.

"All right," said Lady Han-Yin, smiling, "Now, as you have all met each other for the   
first time yesterday, you are going to seal your new friendship by giving something to   
the person next to you. Drop the hair into your solution, and it will change into an object   
that your partner would like to receive, as a gift."

Harry dropped Shan's hair into his cauldron. The solution bubbled and fizzed, and then   
began to glow. The liquid seemed to transform into little sparkling lights, swirling and   
shimmering inside the cauldron. The lights gradually arranged themselves into a curved,   
irregular shape, and Harry saw something dark and green forming within the sparkles.   
Eventually the lights disappeared altogether, and the green object was left lying in the   
cauldron. Harry fished it out and looked at it. It was a paperweight in the shape of   
a small dragon, made of dark green jade.

He turned to Shan, and saw that she was holding a book, entitled, "_The Most   
Exciting Quidditch Events of the Century_."

They grinned at each other, and exchanged the gifts. Harry turned around to look at   
Ron and Pixie. Ron had a Chudley Cannons' poster, while Pixie was looking at a   
small golden pendant, in the shape of a swallow, on a gold chain.

Shan saw Harry looking at the pendant.

" 'Pixie' is actually just a nickname," she explained to him. "Her real name means   
'Little Swallow' - '_Xiao_' means 'small', and '_yan_' means 'swallow'."

She turned back to look at the paperweight. There was a curious expression on her   
face, as she fingered it.

"I guess that suits you, because you're in Green Dragon House," said Harry, looking at it.

Shan hesitated, before replying.

"Partly," she said, and stroked the dragon with her finger again. She stared at it for a   
few seconds, then said in a rather odd voice, "It has another meaning as well. When I   
was small, my father had a nickname for mehe used to call me 'Little Jade Dragon'   
because my favourite colour was green, and because I liked dragons."

Harry was interested. That made the paperweight doubly relevant, he thought, as a gift for her.

"Does he still call you that?" he asked.

Shan's face was expressionless.

"No," she said flatly. "Everything is different now."

Harry had a feeling he'd said the wrong thing, but Lady Han-Yin was now dismissing   
the class, and the others were leaving.

Shan abruptly gathered up her things, and went to look for Robert. Ron and Pixie came   
up to Harry. The Chudley Cannons were flying around the poster as usual, but something   
seemed a bit odd about their clothing. Instead of orange, their Quidditch garments were  
almost red.

"I guess my solution wasn't a very good one," said Pixie mournfully, looking at the red   
figures zooming around. "Sorry, Ronniekins."

Harry was startled.

"_Ronniekins_?" he said, looking at Ron, who was blushing even redder than his hair.

Pixie giggled.

"Isn't that a nice name?" she said. "He told me his mother used to call him that."

Harry was saved from replying by Hermione, who was coming up with Shan and   
the others. She was holding a book entitled, "_The Tao of Chinese Internal Magic_."

"That was a good Potions lesson, wasn't it?" she said, looking pleased, and not   
really noticing Pixie and Ron together, for a change. "If only our Potions classes   
at Hogwarts could be as pleasant."

"Lady Han-Yin is only standing in as Potions Mistress, though," said Shan. She   
seemed to have recovered from her strange mood, and was looking her usual   
cheerful self. "She is actually the Transfiguration Mistress. Our Potions teacher,   
Master Liu Pei, mysteriously disappeared two weeks ago."

The Hogwarts students looked curiously at her when they heard this. Pixie giggled   
again.

"We think that Master Liu Pei has run away, because of Master Yang-Kang," she   
said, her dimples showing. "From what we have heard, there is an old family feud   
between the two of them, and Master Yang-Kang has been trying to gain access   
to Tian-Long for a long time, in order to confront Master Liu Pei."

Ron looked intrigued.

"But then, how come Master Yang-Kang isn't trying to track him down?" he asked.

Shan looked amused.

"We think Master Yang-Kang is waiting for Master Liu Pei to return," she said.   
"You see, the onyx tiger that Yang-Kang is wearing looks just like one that Liu Pei   
always used to wear. We think that it is an old family heirloom, and that Yang-Kang   
must have confronted Liu Pei, and managed to steal it from him, although Liu Pei   
got away. But the heirloom is so precious that he will definitely try to get it back."

"All those are only rumours, Shan," remarked Fatty, from behind. He had taken his   
crystal globe back, and had just finished making all his business calls. "We don't   
know if they are true. For all we know, Yang Kang could have killed Liu Pei already."

"I don't think so," said Shan. "When he goes into one of his fits he still talks about   
'finishing off the scoundrel, Liu Pei'. I'm also positive that the onyx tiger is a Devil's Curse.   
He has been talking about nothing except that during our lessons, and fingering the tiger   
all the while."

"What's a Devil's Curse?" asked Harry.

Shan chuckled.

"You'll find out," she said. "Master Yang-Kang is sure to bring it up during our Black   
Way class." She turned, and started going off with Robert. "We have Geomancy now,"   
she called back, "We'll see you during lunch."

  
-------* * *-------

  
Lunch was in the Hall of Dragons, as usual, after which the others had to wait for   
Harry again as he tried to fend off another crowd of autograph-hungry students.  
They then proceeded outdoors for Care of Magical Creatures. Shan and the other   
Tian-Long students led them through the grounds to the Caverns, some distance   
from the school, where the dragons were housed.

"You'll be looking at a number of different species throughout your stay here," said   
Shan, looking enthusiastic. "Today it's supposed to be the Imperial Flamethrowers."

The Caverns were a series of large caves, hewn into the side of a huge cliff. Each   
dragon had its own cave. The Tian-Long students brought them to the Keeper of   
the Dragons, a wizard by the name of Chen-Kang. He was a handsome, muscular   
young man in coarse brown robes, with long, black hair that was tied back. He   
spoke very little English, so Shan did the translating.

"The Flamethrowers occupy the caves near the top of the cliff," she said, as   
Chen-Kang brought them around. "The Fireballs occupy the next level. The   
Diamondbacks live in the third level, and the Common Bronzebacks - we have   
twenty of those - stay near the ground."

There were only three Imperial Flamethrowers. Chen-Kang explained, through   
Shan, that they were five-clawed, while the other Chinese species only had four,   
and that in olden times only royalty had been allowed to keep them.

"Don't you chain them up?" asked Ron, looking nervously at the Flamethrowers.   
Each was sitting at the mouth of its cave, golden scales glittering in the afternoon   
sun, surveying their surroundings with a regal air.

Shan looked surprised.

"Chain them up?" she said, sounding rather shocked, "Of course not! The poor   
thingsthey'd be miserable if we did. They're free to go, if they want to, but most   
of them are so tame, and we give them a good home, and feed them here, that   
they usually stay."

"I was thinking more in terms of, chain them up, so they won't get near us and   
burn us to a crisp," Ron muttered to Harry, as Shan went over to talk to Chen-Kang.

Yu-Lin and the Slytherins were looking rather jumpy, and were keeping a safe   
distance from the dragons. Pixie and Fatty didn't seem as keen as Shan about   
the Flamethrowers, either. Shan and Chen-Kang, however, surprised them by   
walking right up to one of the Flamethrowers, and examining its hide.

"Won't the dragons harm them?" asked Harry, looking at Chee Chong.

Chee Chong shook his head.

"No," he said. "Chen-Kang can talk to the dragons. They treat him rike one of their   
own kind. Some people say that he used to be a dragon, himself."

Shan and Chen-Kang came back.

"Imperial Flamethrowers like being pampered," said Shan, "so we are going to oil   
their hides."

"Are you _joking_?" said Ron, looking a bit wild-eyed. "You mean, walk right up to   
them and rub them on the back?"

"No, no," she said, smiling. "Chen-Kang will do a Twinning spell for you."

Chen-Kang had taken a large piece of rough jade out of his pocket. He placed   
it on a large, flat rock nearby, covered it with his hands, and muttered something.   
When he took his hands away, the jade had become a miniature model of a   
Flamethrower, and there was a small scrap of cloth next to it.

"This is a miniature of the first Flamethrower," said Shan. "A larger twin of this   
small scrap of cloth has been created next to the actual dragon. Watch."

She picked up the scrap of cloth, added some fragrant oil from a bottle to it, and   
began applying it to the model. The larger cloth that had appeared next to the real   
dragon also became soaked with oil, and it also jumped up and began applying   
itself to the Flamethrower.

"See?" said Shan. "You don't need to go near the real dragon at all."

She beckoned to the Slytherins to take the scrap of cloth, while Chen-Kang   
transformed another piece of jade into a second Flamethrower for Ron, Harry   
and Hermione. Instead of transforming a third piece of jade, however, Chen-Kang   
went over to the third Flamethrower and began to oil its hide, himself. Shan   
watched him for a few seconds, then went over to join him.

Harry looked at Robert, who was still with them, watching.

"They don't hurt her either, do they?" he asked.

Robert gave a small smile, and shook his head.

"Shan has always been able to get along with dragons," he said quietly, before   
lapsing into silence again.

It took some time to oil the Flamethrowers, because they were so large. Harry,   
Ron and Hermione took turns rubbing at their miniature, replenishing the oil when   
it ran out. When they had finished, the lesson was over, and Chen-Kang transformed   
the miniatures back into jade again. The Slytherins disappeared with Yu-Lin, while   
Fatty and Chee Chong had to rush off for another class. Shan suggested that the   
rest of them have a look around the grounds.

"We can take a look at the Pandas," she said. "There are two who live in the   
bamboo grove nearby."

The grove was an extensive one, almost a small forest, the bamboos making a   
pleasant rustling noise in the wind. They were tall, reaching to the sky, some   
several storeys high. Harry was just going to ask where the Pandas were,   
when he heard Ron give a sharp exclamation from behind, followed by a   
burst of giggles from Pixie, and a sound like someone bouncing a basketball   
on the ground.

He turned around, and saw Ron rubbing his head, looking rather startled.   
Next to him was what looked like a furry black and white ball, about the   
size of a watermelon. It was bouncing up and down, and finally came to   
rest on the grass nearby.

"What happened?" asked Harry, peering at the ball with interest.

"That thing fell out of the trees and hit me on the head!" said Ron, indignantly.

He was about to nudge the ball with his foot, when it suddenly moved and   
uncurled, revealing itself to be a small, sad-faced black and white bear, with   
a pink collar around its neck.

There was another bouncing sound from behind, and looking around, they   
saw another black and white ball rolling on the grass. It presently came to   
a stop, and uncurled into another little Panda, wearing a pale blue collar.

Hermione was delighted.

"Aren't they sweet," she said, kneeling down and stroking the pink-collared   
one, who surveyed her sadly for a moment, then began to burrow itself   
into her robes.

"The pink-collared one is the female, called Ping-Ping," said Shan, grinning,   
"and the male is Pong-Pong. But we just call them Ping and Pong, for short."

Pixie picked Pong up, and he immediately curled into a ball again. Squealing   
happily, she began throwing him up in the air and catching him, as a child   
might play with a ball.

"Xiao-Yan, stop it," said Shan, taking Pong away, "you'll make him dizzy."

She placed Pong on the ground, next to Ping, who was still trying to bulldoze  
her way into Hermione.

"She's looking for edibles," explained Shan. "Here," - she took a small jar   
of honey from inside her robes - "give them this. They absolutely adore it."

Sure enough, both Pandas immediately went crazy over the honey, jostling   
with each other to get near the jar, dipping their noses into it and giving   
little snorts of pleasure.

Hermione cuddled the Pandas for a while, then allowed Harry and Ron   
to take the jar of honey. Harry put Ping on his knee. She looked gravely   
at him for a moment, licking some honey from her front paws, and then   
Harry suddenly thought he heard her say something - at least, it sounded   
like a furry, little voice, speaking Chinese, in his head.

He looked at her, startled, and almost knocked the jar of honey over.

"She said something!" he exclaimed.

Ron and Hermione stared at him in astonishment. Pixie giggled. Shan and   
Robert, who had been standing a short distance away, discussing something,   
heard him and came over.

"Are you sure, Harry?" said Ron, looking doubtful. "I didn't hear anything."

"What's happening?" asked Shan, looking interested.

"Ping-Ping said something!" said Harry, looking at Ping who had just pushed   
Pong aside and was now licking the last bits of honey from the jar. "I heard   
her say it in my head!"

They watched Ping for a while. She examined the jar a while longer, to make   
sure there wasn't any honey left, then sat back and stared gravely back at them.

"Well, what did she say?" asked Hermione, looking curious.

Harry tried to remember what the Chinese words had sounded like, but couldn't.

"I'm not sure," he said. "It was something in Chinese."

Pong was now looking rather bored. He curled himself into a ball, and then began   
rolling forward, stopping at the foot of a tall bamboo. He then uncurled, and   
began climbing up the bamboo, until he had reached the leaves, and began   
nibbling some of them.

Pixie leaned forward, and patted Ping on the head.

"Talk to us, Pingsy," she cooed. Ping merely ignored her, and clambered off   
Harry's knee onto the grass. She then curled herself into a ball, and rolled   
over to Shan.

Shan bent down and picked Ping up, and looked at her fondly. LeafSong,   
her pet snake, peeked out of her pocket and gave a rather jealous little hiss.

"She's never said anything to _me_, and I've known her for years," she said,   
smiling. She turned to them.

"Robert wants to visit Sang Nila, his pet Merlion," she said. "Would you   
like to come along and have a look at him?"

The others got up, Harry still looking at Ping, hoping she'd say something   
again; but she didn't.

"What's a Merlion?" asked Hermione, as they started following Robert,   
who was making his way down a path through the bamboo grove.

"It's a sort of half-lion, half-fish," said Shan, cuddling Ping. "Robert found it   
stranded on the beach when it was a cub. He tried to return it to the sea, but   
it followed him home, and he's kept it, ever since."

"It's a vicious brute!" exclaimed Pixie, shuddering. "The last time I went near   
it, it almost took my hand off!"

Shan was looking at Ping, while walking, and began talking softly and   
affectionately to her. Ping sat quietly in her arms, and looked at her, as if   
listening.

Ron looked as though he thought Shan was slightly mad, and Pixie, as usual,   
giggled, but Hermione seemed amused. Harry, looking at Shan, thought there   
was something childlike about her, like a little girl holding her doll, and talking   
to it.

Robert turned around, and, seeing Harry's expression, gave a small smile.   
He took his glasses off, and started cleaning them on his shabby robes.   
Harry saw that his eyes were large and dark, making him look like a   
wide-eyed little boy.

"Shan likes doing that," he said quietly, to Harry. "If she meets an animal   
she feels comfortable with, she'll talk to it for hours, without stopping."

Harry looked at Shan, who was now planting a kiss on Ping's head,   
before continuing her monologue.

"What does she tell them?" he asked.

"All kinds of things," said Robert. "How her day was, what she's planning   
to do, whether anyone has upset her."

He paused, looking at the others, who were now in front.

"It's a kind of outlet for her," he said. "Shan has lots of friends, but she never   
tells them anything personal. She keeps a lot of things to herself."

He put his glasses on again, and lapsed back into silence. Harry was unable   
to get another word out of him, after that.

The path they were following presently left the bamboo grove, and they came   
to a swiftly-running river, which was tumbling over a cliff into a waterfall,  
feeding into a lake. Steep stone steps led them down the side of the cliff,   
and down to the shore of the lake.

Robert went to the water's edge and whistled. Presently, a series of ripples   
was seen, and a large animal emerged from the water. It had a tawny lion's   
head, with a shaggy mane, and the powerful front legs of a lion; but the rest   
of its body was fishlike, and covered with silvery-blue scales.

Pixie was keeping as far from the water's edge as she could.

"Don't go near it," she whispered, "unless you want your leg or arm amputated."

The Merlion swam over to Robert, and hoisted itself onto the shore with its   
front legs. It growled when it saw Harry and the others, but stopped when   
Robert spoke to it. It then settled itself on the ground, at Robert's feet. Robert   
took a book out of his bag, sat down next to the Merlion, and leaning his back   
against it, began to read.

Shan, still cuddling Ping, turned to them.

"Robert and I will stay here for a while," she said. "He normally likes to   
keep Sang Nila company for an hour or so, every day. You can stay,   
too, if you want."

Hermione looked at the others.

"I think we should go back," she said, rather regretfully, "We still have   
a lot of assignments, from Hogwarts, that we haven't finished."

Pixie started leading them back up the cliff. Before they entered the   
bamboo grove, Harry turned back to look down at the lake.

He could see Robert far below, still leaning against the Merlion and   
reading his book. Shan was sitting next to him, still talking to Ping-Ping.   
Harry looked at them for a few moments, then turned and entered the   
dim twilight world of the bamboo grove. The lake was lost from sight,   
and soon the restless murmur of the river faded away as well. All he   
could hear was the musical creak of the bamboos in the wind, above   
him, and the rustling of hundreds of leaves, high up, like the patter of   
raindrops, or the flutter of a thousand tiny dragons' wings.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**More Notes :**

There are four spiritual creatures of Chinese myth:

The Dragon, bringer of good fortune, was the symbol of power of the Emperor.   
Dragons ruled the water: seas, rivers and rain-clouds.

The Phoenix, symbol of the Empress, was a bird with radiant feathers and an   
enchanting song.

The Tortoise was a symbol of long life and righteousness. When it was a   
thousand years old it was able to speak the human language.

The kylin, or _qi-lin_, a Chinese unicorn, appeared only before the birth or   
death of a great man.

According to legend, Sang Nila Utama was an Indonesian prince who first   
discovered the island that later became known as Singapore. "Sang" is a Malay   
title, meaning "Lord". "Sang Nila" (pronounced "Sarng Neela") may thus be   
interpreted as "Lord Nila".

To the ancient Chinese, jade was the most precious of stones, whose magical   
qualities made it more valuable than gold or silver.

The Merlion is the symbol of Singapore.

-


	7. The Celestial City

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------

  
**Chapter VII**

**_The Celestial City_**

  
_Long avenues fringed with narrow alleys,  
The many mansions of princes and peers.  
The palaces face each other from afar,  
Paired towers over a hundred feet tall.  
Let the feast last forever, delight the heart -   
Then what grief or gloom can weigh us down?_

_~ Unknown poet, Eastern Han Dynasty_

**H**arry had just drifted off to sleep that night, in his canopied rosewood bed,   
when a loud yell from Ron's bed suddenly startled him wide awake.

He sat up quickly, and saw Ron picking something up off his blankets and   
throwing it away from his bed. He got out of bed, and promptly tripped over   
something soft and furry, on the floor.

He heard a bouncing sound that seemed vaguely familiar. The lanterns in the   
dormitory suddenly came on, and Harry found himself lying on his stomach,   
looking at a small, sad black and white face. He heard a furry voice in his head,   
speaking in Chinese, in a reproving tone this time. It was Ping-Ping, the Panda.

Pong-Pong was lying some distance away, near the dormitory wall, where Ron   
had thrown him. Fatty was still fast asleep, but Chee Chong and Robert had   
come over to see what was happening.

The dormitory door burst open, and Hermione and Pixie came in together with   
Shan, who had LeafSong coiled around her wrist like a bright green bracelet.   
Hermione was carrying Crookshanks, her cat.

"What's happening?" she demanded. "We heard someone shouting."

"It is Ping-Ping and Pong-Pong," said Chee Chong, as Robert went over to   
Pong and picked him up. "They have come into our dormitory."

"He came crawling into my bed," said Ron, looking distinctly ruffled. "Stuffed   
something into my ear. Scared me out of a sound sleep."

"Oh, is_ that _all," said Hermione, looking rather disgusted. She turned and went   
out, back to the girls' dormitory, Crookshanks still in her arms.

Pixie giggled. She went over to Ron's bed, and watched him brushing a pile of   
leaves and other small objects off the bed onto the floor.

Harry looked around to see where Ping had gone, and realised that she had   
climbed up onto his bed, and was stuffing several objects down his pillowcase.   
He took hold of her and placed her firmly on the floor, and then took the pillowcase   
out and shook it. A host of small things fell out : bamboo leaves, twigs, pebbles, a   
small jade earring, and an ivory comb.

Shan had come over to have a look.

"They're always collecting all sorts of rubbish," she said, sounding rather apologetic.   
"I don't know where they find half of it."

"How did they get up here?" asked Harry, brushing the leaves off the bed. "The   
bamboo grove is miles away."

Pixie giggled.

"They get around," she said, coming over and looking at the ivory comb with interest.   
"They seem to rotate around the school. They spent one term coming to my dorm in   
Crimson Phoenix, and after that they went over to White Tiger."

"You mean, they're going to keep coming back here?" said Ron, not looking too   
thrilled at the idea.

Shan laughed, as Pong wriggled out of Robert's arms and fell onto Ron's bed.

"I think they have taken a liking to you," she said.

Harry had to spend the rest of the night with Ping on his bed, curled up somewhere  
near his feet. Ron similarly had to put up with Pong, who thankfully had run out of   
objects with which to stuff his ear with. Both Pandas were gone, however, by the time   
morning arrived.

The morning started off pretty much the same way as the previous day, with Robert   
routing Fatty out of bed, and all of them hurrying to the Hall for breakfast. This time,   
to evade the autograph-hunters, Harry brought his Invisibility Cloak along. He excused   
himself from the table just before the gong sounded to signal the end of breakfast, and   
waited outside the side door of the Hall, wearing the Cloak, until the others came out.

"That's the downside of fame," said Ron, grinning, as Harry gloomily removed the Cloak,   
wondering if he was going to have to do this every day, three times a day, for the next   
eight weeks.

They were to have their first Protection Against the Black Way class that morning. Shan   
and the others refused to tell them what it would be like, mysteriously saying, "Wait and see."   
Harry noticed, however, that all the Tian-Long students seemed rather tense, and that they   
had all taken seats as near to the back of the classroom as possible, with the exception of   
Robert, who, instead of sitting with Shan as he usually did, went up to one of the front seats   
with a resigned air.

Harry immediately knew when Master Yang-Kang was coming, because the air suddenly   
seemed to grow colder. He strode in, tall and forbidding, slammed his books onto the desk,   
and glared at the students with his deep-set eyes.

"Today, we shall focus on the DEVIL'S CURSE," he said, in a deep, booming voice.   
"The Chinese students should already be familiar with it."

He looked around at them, his eyes glinting, and then suddenly pointed at Fatty.

"You, there," he growled, "Tell me what a Devil's Curse is."

Fatty looked rather pale.

"It is a stone or precious metal that can magnify one's magical powers," he said.

"Close enough," said Yang-Kang, frowning at him. He looked around again, and then   
picked on Shan.

"Tell me," he barked, "how a Devil's Curse is destroyed."

Shan pushed her glasses up her nose, nervously.

"Only by using Internal Magic," she said. Then, when Yang-Kang continued glaring   
at her, added lamely, "but the effort required, er, makes one very weak, after that."

"CORRECT!" boomed Yang-Kang, his eyes glinting. "NEVER forget that! Do not   
EVER try to destroy the Devil's Curse when your enemy is present, or he will be able   
to DESTROY you!!"

Then he turned to look at Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, who were sitting with Yu-Lin.   
They turned pale, when Yang-Kang came over to them, and seemed to shrink in   
their seats.

Yang-Kang singled out Yu-Lin, and barked a question at her in Chinese.

Yu-Lin tremulously answered, and then Yang-Kang, obviously forgetting he was   
supposed to be speaking English, began talking rapidly in Chinese, occasionally   
singling out a student for questioning. Fortunately, he left all the Hogwarts students   
alone.

After a while, his questions appeared to be getting more difficult, because none of   
the Tian-Long students seemed to know the answers any more, except for Robert.   
Yang-Kang, fingering the onyx tiger around his throat, would boom a question out,   
and glare at the cowering students, his eyes flashing. Then, when no one replied,   
Robert would placidly raise his hand and give him the answer.

Finally, the bell rang. Yang-Kang gathered up his books, and then stood there,   
towering over them, and looking quite terrifying.

"Now you know about the DEVIL'S CURSE," he boomed. "It means DEATH!   
DEATH to all when wielded by one who has the POWER to control it!!"

Then he turned, and strode out of the room, black cloak billowing behind him,   
leaving the entire class rather breathless in his wake.

The Chinese students all seemed to relax, and heaved sighs of relief. Fatty stretched   
his chubby arms, and then tiredly rested his head on his desk.

"Wow, is he always like that?" asked Ron, his eyes rather large.

Shan nodded, and looked sympathetically at Robert, who had gathered up his   
things, and was now coming to the back of the class to join them.

"My classmates always make Robert sit in front, and answer all the difficult   
questions," she said.

"You're lucky you have Robert," said Fatty, grumpily. "When no one knows the   
answer in my class, Yang-Kang simply explodes."

They packed their bags, and started off to their next class, which was Divination.

"Who's the teacher for this?" Hermione asked Chee Chong, who was next to her.

"It is Madam Tang," said Chee Chong, looking respectful. "She is a very good teacher."

Shan didn't seem to agree.

"I don't really like Divination," she said, rather reluctantly, "but there's no escaping it, in   
this school. Everyone has to start learning it, from second year."

The Divination classroom was not as unusual as Professor Trelawney's room back   
at Hogwarts. It was also lit by a dim, red light, but it still contained the usual desks   
and chairs. Instead of perfume, the room was permeated by the choking smell of   
incense, emanating from a forest of joss-sticks arranged on a table in one corner. A   
host of eight-sided mirrors hung on the wall facing the door, while several large urns   
lined another wall. One was filled with bronze coins, another with yarrow sticks, and   
a third with small tortoiseshells.

Hermione was looking puzzled.

"Why do you refer to some of the teachers as 'Lady', while you call others 'Madam'?"   
she asked Shan.

"'Lady' is used for nobility," explained Shan. "For commoners, we use 'Madam'. Lady   
Wen-Li is a distant cousin of the Emperor. Her family owns the land around here - when   
she inherited it, she started this school."

"You mean, there's still an Emperor?" said Harry, surprised.

Shan nodded.

"In the Magical World, there is," she said, then gave a small shrug, "He's only a figurehead,   
though. The nobility don't really run anything, but they're all pretty rich." She lowered her   
voice, so that Yu-Lin and the Slytherins wouldn't hear, "Yu-Lin's one of them, sort of. Her   
father is a nobleman who has done business abroad - that's probably why he knows Draco   
Malfoy's father. Yu-Lin's mother is her father's favourite concubine - that's how she managed   
to get hold of that Phoenix. But she has to keep it tied with the gold cord, otherwise it won't   
stay with her."

She stopped talking, because the Divination teacher, Madam Tang, had just come in.

Madam Tang looked like a big black cockroach to Harry. She was short and stout, and   
her robes were black. Her hair was tied severely back into a bun at the top of her head.

"Today, we shall practise the ancient art of plastromancy," she croaked, peering short-sightedly   
at them through her black-rimmed spectacles. "Each of you may take one candle and one   
tortoise-shell."

They spent the lesson heating their tortoiseshells in their candle flames, until fine cracks appeared   
in the shell, and then trying to decipher the meaning of the patterns made by the cracks, using   
the manual provided. Harry decided it made about as much sense to him as Professor Trelawney's   
tea-leaves had during his third year.

"Next week, we shall start on the_ I Ching_," announced Madam Tang, when the lesson was   
ending and they had deposited their used tortoise shells in another urn. "We shall concentrate   
on _I Ching_ for the next few weeks. You may each bring a copy of _The Book of Changes_ back   
and familiarise yourselves with it."

Shan and Robert were looking rather bored, but Yu-Lin, Fatty and Chee Chong were gazing   
at her almost with adoration, and hanging on to her every word.

"As _I Ching_ is important, we shall have a short demonstration today, so that you shall be   
more familiar with it," Madam Tang continued. She looked at Fatty. "Wing-Fatt, take six   
bronze coins from the urn."

Fatty jumped up, and did as she said. He thought of a question he'd like answered - "Will   
my business prosper?" - tossed the coins, and worked out which Hexagram he should read   
from the book.

"It is Hexagram number two, '_The Receptive_'," croaked Madam Tang, shuffling over to   
Fatty. She took up her copy of _The Book of Changes_, and began to read from it in a   
sepulchral tone of voice.

"'_It is favourable to find friends in the west and southquiet perseverance brings   
good fortune_.'"

She paused, and to Harry's dismay, came over to where he was sitting, just opposite the   
aisle from Fatty.

"It is clear to me what this means!" she barked suddenly in a loud voice, making all of   
them jump. She stared balefully at Harry. "Friends in the westgood fortune" She   
turned, and looked at Fatty.

"There lies your friend from the west, Wing-Fatt," she intoned loudly, pointing at Harry,   
and jabbing a gnarled finger into his shoulder.

Fatty gaped at Harry, then turned to look at Madam Tang.

"Yes, Madam Tang," he said, almost reverently.

"He shall be your source of good luck, of good fortune," Madam Tang intoned, still   
poking Harry in the shoulder. Harry groaned inwardly, and wished she would stop.   
Ron, next to him, was sniggering, while Shan and Pixie were looking at him and giggling.   
Hermione, sitting in front, looked resigned to the fact that the Divination here was   
obviously not going to be any more precise than what they'd learnt at Hogwarts.

To Harry's relief, Madam Tang dismissed them soon after that.

"Good thing the light in the room was red," said Ron, as they went back to their Pagoda,   
"so that we couldn't see how much you were blushing."

"Harry, you are going to bring me good luck!" said Fatty, looking rather excited. Chee   
Chong was with him, also nodding earnestly.

"I don't think - " began Harry.

"That is good news!" said Fatty, looking cheerful. "I tell you what - tonight, to celebrate,   
we shall go down to the City. Lady Wen-Li has given permission. I shall treat all of   
you to dinner."

"Ooo, good idea," said Pixie, looking delighted. "Ronniekins, I can show you around!"

  
So, that evening, all of them went down to the Caverns, and Shan introduced them to   
WindStar, the Common Bronzeback she and Robert usually rode for Jousting.

"I think all of us can fit on top of her," said Shan, bringing some saddles out, and   
fastening them to WindStar's back. The Bronzebacks were smaller than the other   
dragons, and were a rather nondescript brown, except for a pattern of scales that   
curved down their backs, which glittered bronze when they caught the light.

Harry had been on a Hippogriff before, but never on a dragon. He could feel the   
powerful thrust of muscles as WindStar launched herself into the air, and Hermione,   
behind him, gave a small gasp. Then they were airborne, the school and grounds   
becoming smaller and smaller, below them.

Flying a dragon turned out to be much smoother than flying a Hippogriff, because   
WindStar was so much larger. It took about ten minutes to reach the City. Shan   
landed WindStar in a large square, where several other dragons were also tethered.

Chee Chong looked rather green as he dismounted together with the others.

"Frying a dragon always makes me a bit airsick," he said.

"We need to change money," said Hermione, looking slightly anxious. "We forgot   
to do it at Gringotts."

Fatty's eyes gleamed.

"I'll do it for you!" he said. "There's a money-changer nearby. Don't worry, I'll get   
a good rate for you."

The square was full of people on bicycles, zipping in and out, but the cyclists were   
not bothering to look where they were going. Some were reading books, others   
newspapers, while one lady was busily applying her makeup. The bicycles seemed   
to know where to go anyway, turning here and there, and making their way around   
corners.

They left the square, Fatty leading the way. Harry, Ron and Hermione looked   
around curiously. Most of the people around them seemed to favour neutral grey   
or pale brown robes, but there were also groups of wizards who were dressed in   
more striking colours - deep green, navy blue, or black. Stern-faced, they had a   
rather militant air about them, and the inhabitants of the city seemed to regard them   
with some respect, making way for them as they passed.

The surrounding buildings all had the same type of concave, overhanging curved   
roofs as the school had, and figurines of various creatures could be seen on many   
of them. They passed gardens and parks, and broad, imposing avenues lined with   
towering stone statues, some of dragons, others of stylized Chinese lions. Several   
driverless rickshaws went past, their passengers, like those on the bicycles, not   
paying attention to where they were going, allowing the rickshaws to decide which   
route to take.

Pixie had replaced her usual school robes with red silk ones, and had applied   
matching lipstick to her lips. Gold earrings dangled from her ears, and bracelets   
jangled on her wrists. She still looked very pretty, if a bit made-up, and Ron,   
walking next to her, seemed to be in a daze.

Hermione was looking disapprovingly at them, and Shan, seeing this, chuckled.

"This is nothing," she told Hermione, "Pixie used to be a lot wilderI've had   
combined classes together with her since third year. She once dyed her hair   
blonde, and painted her nails, and used to wear six or seven pairs of earstuds   
at one go. Lady Han-Yin was very angry with her."

Hermione looked even more disapproving. Pixie, however, seemed blissfully   
unaware of this, and was asking Fatty where they would be having dinner.

"Grand Pagoda," said Fatty, jingling the bags of coins that Hermione and the   
others had handed to him. "I've invited some of my other friends along, too."

"But - that is a very expensive restaurant!" said Chee Chong, looking shocked.

Fatty shrugged.

"When you do business, you have to entertain," was all he said.

"We'll have to fly WindStar there," said Shan, "The Grand Pagoda is on the   
outskirts of the City."

They had reached a crowded alley, lined with shophouses. Fatty made his   
way to the money-changer.

"Come on, Ronniekins, there's a nice shop that sells silk robes just here,"   
said Pixie, taking Ron by the arm. "We can browse there while Fatty does   
his bargaining."

Harry expected Hermione to look disapproving, but she seemed interested in   
the silk robes as well, and was following them.

Robert was moving toward a bookshop.

"I'll meet you back where WindStar is tethered," he said to Shan, before   
disappearing inside.

Shan sighed, and looked at Harry.

"Robert doesn't like shopping," she said to him, as they entered the Silk Shop.

The shop looked much larger inside than it had on the outside. Bolts of Chinese   
silk lined the walls, while the rest of the shop was filled with rows and rows of   
shimmering silk robes in all colours and sizes. Harry and Chee Chong hung around,   
feeling rather out of place, while the girls browsed, Pixie with Ron in tow.   
Fortunately, Fatty soon came in, jingling the bags of coins, and looking pleased   
with himself.

"We don't have much time, so we'll look around elsewhere while the girls are busy   
here," he said, giving Harry his money. Harry looked curiously at the Chinese coins.   
They were round, and came in gold and bronze. Each coin had several Chinese   
characters on it, arranged around a square hole in the middle.

Fatty gave Hermione and Ron their money, then pulled Ron away from Pixie and led   
them out of the Silk Shop. As they made their way down the street, two groups of   
the militant wizards passed them, one in dark grey and yellow robes, the other in black.   
Long, sinister-looking swords hung from their belts.

"Funny," said Fatty, as they turned to watch the wizards pass, "these wizards are   
definitely from some Pugilistic sect. We don't see them here very often, not at this time   
of the year, anyway. They usually come at the end of the school year, to test those   
students who want entry into one of the Internal Magic Schools."

"Maybe there is going to be a Duelling Tournament," suggested Chee Chong, his eyes   
lighting up at the idea.

"That would be something to watch," said Ron enthusiastically, as the Pugilists disappeared   
into the crowd.

Fatty brought them to a large store that sold a variety of things, from dried herbs to sweets,   
to toys and trinkets and fireworks. The store was crowded, and they had to push their way in.   
Harry was following Fatty, and presently found himself looking at a huge array of glossy,   
circular cakes, which were slowly changing colour : from dark to golden brown, then pale   
brown, pale green, and cream.

Fatty ordered several bags of the cakes, which he said were moon-cakes. Then, after he   
had finished haggling over the price, they went to look for Ron and Chee Chong.

The girls had now also joined them. Hermione's cheeks were slightly pink, and a bulge in   
her bag showed that she had not come away from the Silk Shop empty-handed. Pixie's   
arms were filled with packages; spotting Ron, she promptly unloaded all her packages   
onto him, and then went over to look at a counter filled with trinkets and jewellery.

Harry went over to Ron, and relieved him of some of the packages.

"She really knows how to spend money," said Ron, looking rather shaken. Chee Chong   
now appeared as well, a large package under his arm, which he said contained fireworks.

"We need to go," said Fatty, looking impatiently at the girls, who were examining the trinkets.

"Just five minutes, Fatt," said Pixie, dimpling at him. She turned back to the jewellery. There   
were all types of rings and bracelets and earrings, in ivory and gold and silver, and of course,   
jade. Harry thought he had never seen so much jade in his life. It came in all colours, from   
pale to dark green to pale rose-pink and lilac. There were jade bangles and brooches, and   
a whole host of jade pendants, most of them jade dragons, but there were also plenty of fish,   
and fruit, and flowers.

Fatty finally put his foot down, and herded them out of the store, saying he had to greet   
all his guests at the restaurant. Back at the square, they found Robert sitting next to WindStar,   
reading. A pile of books, in both Chinese and English, lay at his side. Harry looked at them.   
The English books were a queer mix : _The Sorceress of Alcandoro_; _Vorg the Vampire_;   
_The Goblin Rebellions in Europe_; and even some Muggle books : _The Adventures of   
Sherlock Holmes_, and _The Snow Goose_.

They mounted WindStar, and rose high above the City. After about a minute, Harry saw   
a lake in front of them with a small island in its centre. On the island was a dark green   
pagoda, red glazed roof glowing in the evening sun.

Shan landed WindStar on the island, and they entered the pagoda. The restaurant was   
at the top, and when they entered they found most of Fatty's friends already there,   
taking up about half the tables in the restaurant. To Harry's dismay, Fatty dragged him   
over to the main table where his friends were, claiming he would bring him good luck,   
while Ron and the others sat at another table nearby.

Fatty and his friends spoke English at first, but after a while they seemed to forget that   
Harry was there and began chattering away in Chinese. Harry had a gloomy evening,   
watching Ron and the others who seemed to be having a very good time at their table.   
Halfway through the meal, he noticed something small and green slithering over the   
floor toward him.

Harry bent down, and looked at it.

"LeafSong?" he said.

The little snake looked up at him.

"Harry Potter can sspeak Parsseltongue!" she hissed in surprise, her forked tongue   
flickering in and out.

"What do you want?" said Harry.

"Shan has ssent me to keep you company," she hissed.

Harry picked her up and put her in his pocket. LeafSong, pleased that she had found a   
human who could speak her language, tried to strike up a conversation with him.

"Fatty's friendss are mosstly from Hong Kong," she hissed. "Their parentss are all   
important business people there."

"Um," said Harry, not knowing what else to say. LeafSong, seeing he wasn't very interested,   
began hissing a snake-song to him, obviously thinking he would find it entertaining.

Toward the end of the evening, Fatty's friends all came over to say good-bye. They seemed   
quite interested in meeting Harry, and queued up to shake his hand and look at his scar.   
The queue became so long that Harry suddenly realised, to his dismay, that it did not consist   
only of Fatty's friends, but almost everyone in the restaurant.

Ron and the others came over as he stood there, red-faced and embarrassed, shaking   
hands. At last, the queue came to an end. The last person in it was, to his surprise, a   
distinguished-looking English wizard, tall and grey-haired, with a Roman nose.

"Mr Potter?" he said, shaking Harry's hand. "A pleasure to meet you, far from home.   
My name is Douglas Dimbleby, representative of the British Ministry of Magic in Hong Kong."

He turned to look at Ron, smiling. "Aren't you Arthur Weasley's son?"

Ron looked rather startled.

"Uh, yeah," he said.

Harry had been relieved that no one, so far, had asked him for an autograph, but at this   
moment, several of Fatty's friends came running back with a piece of parchment in their   
hands, and a quill, and shoved them into Harry's hand.

Harry's heart sank. Fatty, however, looked very indignant, and let forth a torrent of   
Cantonese at them. He removed the parchment from Harry's hand, and tossed it back   
at them. They grinned at him, but took the parchment and left the restaurant, waving   
good-naturedly at them.

Harry was relieved.

"Thanks," he said to Fatty.

Mr Dimbleby looked amused.

"Does that happen very often?" he asked.

Pixie gave an idiotic giggle.

"All the time," she said. "He hasn't stopped signing autographs since he came to   
Tian-Long."

"I really think we should go," said Harry loudly, wishing Pixie wouldn't keep giggling,   
and feeling that he'd had quite enough.

"Do you know this Dimbleby person?" Hermione asked Ron, as they went down the  
pagoda's staircase.

"I've heard Dad mention him," said Ron. "He's something like the Ministry's ambassador,   
in Hong Kong."

"Wonder what he's doing here," said Harry, taking LeafSong out of his pocket and   
handing her back to Shan.

Ron looked thoughtful.

"Probably snooping around," he said. "He's had a shady past, from what I hearsome   
people think he used to be a spy for the British, here in China. But it could just be a rumour."

They reached the pagoda entrance, where Fatty was examining Chee Chong's fireworks.

"We cannot let them off in the school," he said. "It's against the rules. We might as well   
let them off here."

So they sat by the water's edge, and Fatty took the moon-cakes out as well. These   
proved to be very sweet and sticky, and kept changing flavour, each corresponding   
to a different colour. The first bite Harry took tasted like lotus seed, but the next bite   
tasted more like sweetened hard-boiled egg.

Chee Chong arranged the fireworks in a row. They all looked identical : slender,   
narrow sticks, each with a string attached. Then Robert snapped his fingers, and a   
small flame appeared at the tip of his thumb. Reaching out, he lit one stick.

The stick burst into flame and soared up into the sky, leaving a trail of fire behind it.   
It exploded high above them, and became a huge, shimmering silver tree. Then the   
lights changed colour, and rearranged themselves, to become a glittering gold and   
red dragon, which danced around, chasing what seemed to be a large pearl. After   
a minute or so, the dragon soared higher into the air, and changed into a flock of   
glittering birds, which twittered and swooped around, and then suddenly dove   
downward toward the lake, disappearing just before they touched the water.

Robert lit a second stick. This time, it soared into the air and became two glittering   
Chinese lions, facing each other and prancing around, jerking their heads up and down.   
After several minutes, they transformed into a flock of golden phoenix, which swooped   
around in a complicated dance, and finally flew inward toward one another, colliding in   
a burst of light right above the students. A host of small white flowers floated downward,   
landing on their heads and shoulders, and filling the air with sweet perfume.

Robert lit a few more sticks, each changing into something different. Then Shan said   
they must go back, because WindStar was tired. They finished the remainder of the   
moon-cakes, and Chee Chong packed the remaining fireworks into his carrier bag.

As they rose up into the air, WindStar suddenly sneezed, and flames shot out of her   
mouth and nostrils, startling all of them.

"The effects of the herb has run out," Shan called from the front, turning to look at   
them. "But don't worry, WindStar's very gentle. She won't hurt any of us."

At this moment, WindStar sneezed again, flames pouring out of her jaws. Chee Chong,   
who was sitting behind Shan with his eyes closed, trying not to feel airsick, accidentally   
dropped the bag of fireworks. A gust of wind blew it in front, so that it flew in front of   
WindStar just as she sneezed a third time.

The bag caught fire, and the fireworks ignited and flew up into the air, high above them,   
leaving a huge trail of fire in their wake, and exploded in a deafening burst of noise.

For a few seconds, the air all around them was full of sparkling light and fire. Then Shan   
directed WindStar away from the lake, and back toward the school.

They all turned back to watch. It was a fantastic sight : the sky above the City was alive   
with light, shimmering flowers and trees and fish and birds and dragons, in a myriad of   
colours, some just hanging in the air, others swooping around in a graceful dance, the   
trembling lights reflected in the surface of the lake below.

Then all at once the lights flared brightly, and raced toward each other, to meet at a   
point just above the Grand Pagoda. They exploded when they met, in a brilliant burst   
of light, into a thousand green-gold stars, filling the night sky. The stars sparkled and   
twinkled, and then began to fall, one by one, to the dark surface of the water below.   
Each sank into the water's depths, leaving a trail of golden-green phosphorescence   
behind it, and was gone.

-

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**More Chinese Notes:**

Yang-Kang was one of the villains in Louis Cha's "she-diao" trilogy, while Liu Pei was the   
crafty ruler of the Kingdom of Shu in _The Romance of the Three Kingdoms_.

"Black Way" is the literal translation of "hei-dao", the generic name for the whole range of   
dirty tricks of Chinese spiritualism: cursing, barrenness, making of poisons, or at least very bad luck.

If you would like to know more about _I Ching_, go to **http://www.teleport.com/~bioching/iching.html**

For a look at all the hexagrams, go to **http://www1.shore.net/~rdl/iching/Hexagrams.html**

- 


	8. The Caretaker's Wife

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------

  
**Chapter VIII**

**_The Caretaker's Wife_**

  
_She lives where the forest ends,  
The woodland folk her only friends  
_

**A**fter the first few days at Tian-Long, Harry and the others gradually became   
accustomed to their daily routine of hurrying to the Hall for breakfast in the mornings,   
followed by the day's lessons. Lady Han-Yin usually gave them something amusing   
to do during Potions, while Master Yang-Kang was still ranting and raving about the   
Devil's Curse. Divination classes were spent tossing coins and then checking up on  
the relevant Hexagrams using the Book of Changes, and trying to interpret their meanings.   
For Care of Magical Creatures, they had some respite from the dragons, and had a   
look at kylins, which were a type of Chinese unicorn; each had a slender deer-like   
body, and a tail that looked curiously like a cow's.

To Harry and the others' relief, Malfoy, after seeing what Robert had done to Yu-Lin   
that first evening, had ceased to annoy them and was keeping to himself. He, Crabbe and   
Goyle always sat at one side with Yu-Lin, away from the others, and would disappear as   
soon as the class was over. Harry sometimes saw him and Yu-Lin looking at the rest of   
them, whispering and smiling slyly, and wondered if they were up to anything.

Most of their free time was spent catching up with their assignments, which they either did   
in the Green Dragon common room together with the other Green Dragon students, or   
out of doors if the weather was good. The days seemed to fly, and they were so busy   
that there was no time to feel homesick, although they were getting rather tired of eating   
Chinese food every day.

Even this was solved, when one day Yu-Lin and the Slytherins did not turn up at the   
Hall for breakfast.

"Good news for you!" said Fatty, coming back from the teacher's table where he had   
been talking to Lady Wen-Li, "Draco Malfoy has requested that he and his friends be   
given some western-style food for a change, and so Lady Wen-Li has also appointed a   
house-elf to us, who will prepare whatever food you wish to have."

Ron and Harry's faces brightened, but Hermione, on hearing the word 'house-elf',   
arranged her features into a disapproving frown.

"Slave labour," she muttered, pushing her bowl of porridge away from her so that some   
of it slopped out of her bowl, "Even here, miles from home, we have - _slave labour_!"

"What's that?" said Shan, looking startled, and pushing her glasses up her nose.

Ron sniggered.

"Hermione strongly believes in protecting the rights of house-elves," he said to Shan.   
"Including giving them salaries, pensions and sick leave."

The Tian-Long students all looked surprised.

"You mean, you don't pay your house-elves?" said Pixie, giggling.

"House-elves here are paid," said Fatty, grimacing. "They even expect a bonus at the end   
of the year. Of course, it's not so bad here in China," he added. "In Hong Kong, besides   
the bonus, they want a paid vacation every year, even though we bring them along whenever   
we go on holiday."

Hermione looked astonished.

"_Really_?" she said, her eyes widening, "they're - they're _paid_? With - with bonuses -   
and everything?"

Fatty nodded glumly.

"They don't like doing the more menial tasks either, like cleaning the toilets," he said. "My   
father thought of employing some from England, because the English ones are a lot more   
docile, but the tax on foreign labour is so high that it wasn't worth it. Plus, they don't   
understand Cantonese."

Hermione was still looking astonished. Pixie, noticing this, giggled again.

"Don't forget, they are Chinese," she said, dimpling at Hermione. "Chinese all know   
how to make money."

They met their house-elf later that day, at lunchtime. Fatty brought them to a small room   
in Green Dragon Pagoda, one level below their dormitories. A table with chairs arranged   
around it was there, and a small bronze bell hung from a string in a corner. Fatty shook   
the string, and the bell produced a loud, jangling noise.

There was a loud Pop! and a small house-elf appeared, holding a pile of menus. Her   
eyes were small and slanted, and she had long, bat-like ears and a nose shaped like a   
small kumquat.

"Ting-Ting at your service," she squeaked, bowing to them. Instead of the tea-towel   
that the British house-elves wore, she was wearing a plain white blouse together with   
tiny black trousers.

She distributed the menus to them, and then stood ready, Chinese brush and parchment   
in hand, waiting to take their orders.

The others started flipping through the menus, but Hermione couldn't seem to take her   
eyes off Ting-Ting.

"Dodo you like working here, Ting-Ting?" she asked.

Ting-Ting's small eyes widened slightly, and then, looking at Hermione, nodded.

"Ting-Ting like, Madam," she squeaked, her head bobbing up and down. "Ting-Ting is   
best house-elf here in Tian-Long. Ting-Ting spend two months in Chinese restaurant in   
Engrand, Madam. Learn speak Engrish flom Engrish house-elves. Ting-Ting's performance   
bonus this year will be higher than other house-elves here."

Hermione seemed too astonished to ask anything further, so the tiny creature hopped   
around the table, taking their orders, and then came back to Hermione, who, still looking   
surprised, weakly ordered some lamb chops.

Ting-Ting disappeared with a Pop! and then reappeared almost immediately, carrying   
a stack of plates and cutlery. She rapidly set the table, and then their food materialised   
on the plates almost straight away. She stood, at attention, watching them throughout   
the meal. When they had finished, she cleared the plates and placed a little wooden tray   
on the table, and then looked expectantly at them.

Fatty and the other Tian-Long students started feeling around inside their pockets.

"She expects us to tip her," explained Shan, placing a bronze coin on the tray, "because   
this service is in addition to her normal work."

Hermione seemed speechless, but she mechanically added a bronze coin to the tray.

Ting-Ting beamed at them, and then bowing to them, took the tray and disappeared   
with a pop!

Shan grinned at Hermione, as they rose from the table.

"You can choose to eat here, or in the Hall of Dragons, from now on," she told Harry   
and the others. "Just jangle the bell and Ting-Ting will come."

She gathered up her things, and together with Robert and the others, made for her next   
class. Hermione, leaving the room together with Harry and Ron, was fast recovering from   
her surprise. Harry, looking at her, could almost see her mind clicking as she considered   
all the new directives she could now add to her S.P.E.W. manifesto.

They had a free afternoon that day, and brought their assignments to the grounds, sitting   
near White Tiger Pagoda, and watching the Green Dragon students practicing for an   
Internal Magic test which they were going to take that day.

Shan had explained a bit about Internal Magic to them.

"We only learn very basic things at this level," she said. "To learn more advanced Magic,   
you have to go to one of the Internal Magic schools. The skill we work on most is Shielding;   
that's something like projecting a force field from within yourself. If you raise a strong enough   
Shield, you can block out spells that your enemy is throwing at you, even physically prevent   
someone from coming near you."

They were watching the group of green-robed students who were practising nearby. They   
were working in groups of five, four students throwing balls at the fifth one, who then tried   
to deflect the balls without letting them touch him.

"I guess if nothing outside the Shield can penetrate it, then nothing from inside can exit it,   
either," said Hermione, watching in fascination.

Shan shook her head.

"That's the strange thing about Shields," she said. "No matter how strong the Shield is,   
anyone from within can always leave it. Anything that passes through the Shield tends to   
weaken it, though."

"Is it only the Chinese who have the ability to learn Internal Magic?" asked Harry.

Shan laughed, and shook her head again.

"Anyone can learn it. After all, you sometimes find yourself spontaneously doing things   
without a wand, don't you?"

Ron gave a snort of laughter.

"Harry blew his aunt up, once," he said.

Shan looked curious, but Hermione said sharply, "That wasn't a good thing for him to do,   
Ron - the Ministry could well have arrested him for that!"

Shan gave a small sigh, and got up.

"I have to practise," she said, and went over to join the group of green-robed students.

Chee Chong was sitting with them, rewriting an essay which he must have accidentally spilt  
ink on, for the original was all covered with black stains. He was also watching the Green   
Dragon students.

"We start with a small Shield, in first year," he told Harry, "then by sixth year we should be   
able to cleate a Shield big enough to shield our whole body."

Harry could see Shan's Shield, a faint glow surrounding her body. Three of the balls hit it   
and bounced off, but the fourth, thrown from the back, broke through the Shield and hit her.   
She gave a startled exclamation, and the Shield dissolved and vanished.

"Shan's back Shield is always weak," said Chee Chong, watching, "She must work on it   
a bit more."

Master Kung, the Internal Magic master, had come out. He motioned to the students to   
queue up near a maze surrounded by a high hedge, just next to White Tiger Pagoda.   
Then he went into the Pagoda, and presently appeared on the balcony of the third storey,   
and signalled to the students to enter the maze, one by one.

"There are several tests inside the maze," explained Chee Chong. "You will be given   
marks, depending how well you pass each test."

Shrieks and yells could be heard from the students inside the maze. After a while several   
of them emerged, some covered with red and yellow chalk, some rubbing bruises on their   
arms. Shan was the fourth to appear. The front of her green robes was soaking wet, while   
the back was covered with chalk.

"There was a five-headed bird in there," she said. "I had to conjure an apple for it to eat,   
or it wouldn't let me pass. I weakened the Shield when I stuck my hand through it to give   
the apple to the bird, and someone threw a load of chalk dust at me."

She signalled to Robert who had been sitting nearby all the while, reading a comic book,   
_Vorg the Vampire_.

"You'd better go in," she said. "Nearly everyone else has gone."

Robert put _Vorg the Vampire_ down, and went off toward the maze.

Harry had noticed that Shan and Robert, unlike the other Chinese students, often conversed   
in English as well as Chinese, and seemed equally at home in either language. Curiously   
enough, Shan also hardly ever called Robert by his Chinese name. Harry glanced at the   
pile of books which were sticking out of Robert's bag. He must have finished _The Sorceress   
of Alcandoro_, because its wrapping had been removed, and it looked rather dog-eared.   
The rest of the books, including _Sherlock Holmes_ and _The Snow Goose_, were still in   
their transparent wrappings.

Harry looked curiously at Shan.

"How come Robert reads Muggle books?" he asked.

Shan smiled, and shrugged.

"He picked it up from a Muggle neighbour, back in Singapore," she said. "But he only   
likes detective and adventure stories." She glanced at _The Snow Goose_. "I gave him   
that for his fifteenth birthday, and he still hasn't read it. He just carries it around in his   
bag because he doesn't want to hurt my feelings, and he's always telling me he's going   
to read it next."

Hermione had been listening.

"You and Robert are pretty close, aren't you?" she said.

Shan nodded.

"Robert was sick for some time, so he started school late, and we ended up in the   
same class. He's almost nineteen."

Ron looked disbelieving.

"He doesn't even look thirteen," he said.

"Robert always did well in school, even though he started late," said Shan mournfully.   
"My parents are very ambitious. They're always nagging me about trying to do better   
than him. Before they found out I was a witch, they wanted me to be a doctor or a   
lawyer."

She sighed, and started brushing chalk off the back of her robes.

"But my schoolwork is just mediocre," she said, rather sulkily. "The only thing I'm  
good at is flying dragons."

"It doesn't matter," said Harry. "The only thing _I'm_ good at is Quidditch."

Robert came strolling out of the maze, looking just as he had before going in. He   
picked _Vorg the Vampire_ up, and stuffed it into his bag.

"I'm going to see Sang Nila," he said to Shan.

"Oh, let's go along," said Ron, throwing down his parchment and quill. "I've had   
all I can take, of History of Magic, today."

Hermione looked reluctant, but seeing that everyone else was leaving, started   
packing her things as well.

They made their way from White Tiger Pagoda toward the river. It had rained the   
night before, and the river was swollen. Chee Chong looked at the swiftly-moving   
water, then gave an exclamation, reached his hand out, and muttered something in   
Chinese. Something small and black shot out of the water, and into his hand.

"What is it?" The rest of them crowded around to look.

It was a large black cricket. It lay in Chee Chong's hand, half-drowned, feebly   
waving its antennae at them.

"It is a clicket," Chee Chong said, looking pleased. "He must have fallen in. I am   
going to keep him as a pet." He looked at Hermione. "I will give him an Engrish   
name, since all of you are here. Prease help me think of one."

"Oh, er, let's see," said Hermione, looking slightly flustered. "Well - how about   
Chester?"

So the cricket was christened Chester, and Chee Chong started back toward the   
palace first, saying he must prepare a dry place for it to stay.

They continued on. The bamboo grove was now visible in the distance, and Harry   
saw a hut near the edge of it, which he hadn't noticed before. A small, bent figure   
had come out of the hut, and was making its way toward the river.

He was going to ask Shan who it was, when he heard someone calling from   
behind. Turning around, they saw that it was Jeanne.

Harry hadn't spoken with Jeanne much since they'd come to Tian-Long. He saw   
her in the Hall during meals, but they usually had to rush off for classes after that.   
She had a room in Green Dragon Pagoda, near their dormitory, but she was   
seldom there. She came toward them now, smiling, but there were shadows   
under her eyes, and she looked tired.

"Haven't seen you around, lately," remarked Ron, as she came up to them.

She sighed, and nodded.

"I've been busy with Master Kung," she said. "The Internal Magic is proving   
a lot more difficult than I thought."

"It's much harder to learn when you're starting late," said Shan, consolingly.   
"Most of us consider it the most difficult subject in the school."

Jeanne was about to reply, but then her eyes widened, looking at something   
behind them. She gave an exclamation, then swiftly transformed herself into a   
large eagle, and launched herself into the air.

They turned around, startled. Then, Harry saw why. Someone was in the river.   
It must have been the person who had come out of the hut just now, he thought.   
It had looked like an old woman. She must have slipped and fallen in.

"She'll go over," exclaimed Shan, a hint of panic in her voice. As one, they all   
began running in the direction of the waterfall.

The eagle swooped down, low, and tried to pull the woman out of the water   
with its talons. The woman cried out in pain, and twisted away. With a cry, the   
eagle soared upward, then turned and plunged downward. Before it hit the   
water, it had changed into a sea-serpent.

Shan's eyes were large.

"How did she do that?" she asked.

"They've almost reached the waterfall," said Hermione, looking tense.

The serpent had reached the old woman. Throwing its coils around her, it turned   
and began pulling her back to shore.

"Jeanne is a shape-shifter," explained Harry to Shan. "She can transform into   
any animal."

The serpent clambered onto land, the woman still in its coils. It then shrank and   
changed shape, and Jeanne was there again.

The old woman was weeping hysterically and clinging to Jeanne. Shan was   
watching with a curious expression on her face. She dropped to the rear, as   
the rest of them hurried up to help. Robert had taken his wand out, and was   
conjuring a stretcher.

Jeanne was trying to calm the old woman, who was still weeping and clinging   
to her. She looked relieved to see the stretcher.

"She doesn't seem to be hurt, just frightened," she said to them, over the   
woman's sobs. "I think she stays at the hut; let's bring her back there."

They helped the woman, still weeping, onto the stretcher. Robert waved his   
wand, and the stretcher rose into the air and started off in the direction of the   
hut, Jeanne beside it, the woman clutching her hand.

Harry turned to look for Shan, but she had fallen behind and was pushing   
LeafSong back into her pocket, so he turned to Robert and asked, "who is she?"

Robert shifted his wand from one hand to the other, before replying.

"She's the wife of the wizard who used to be caretaker of the grounds," he said.   
"He died some years ago, but Lady Wen-Li allowed her to stay on, because   
she had nowhere to go. She stays alone in the hut; the only company she has   
are the wild animals around, which she feeds daily."

They had reached the hut. Harry was surprised to see several deer in front of   
it, and, a distance away, some wild-looking wolves. A few rabbits hopped   
away from them to the back of the hut, while a flock of sparrows were busily   
feeding at a bird-feeder placed under a tree.

The animals drew back when they came up, although several looked at Jeanne   
with interest. Shan took a liking to one of the deer, and hung around outside   
talking to it, while the rest went in.

The hut was sparsely furnished, with a crude fireplace at one end and a bed at   
the other. It had a simple mud floor. Jeanne began helping the old woman into   
dry clothing. Some of the animals had come inside the hut as well; a squirrel   
was by the fireplace, eating nuts, and two rabbits were next to it, nibbling at   
some turnips. Then one of the wolves came in, and they scurried out.

"They don't really seem to be afraid of the wolves," said Hermione, watching   
in fascination.

Ron shrugged.

"Guess they know the wolves aren't hungry," he said.

The wolf lay down by the fireplace, and looked at them. It was a mountain   
wolf, leaner and more sinister-looking than those Harry had seen back home.

Jeanne was talking to the old woman, who, it seemed, could only speak Chinese.

"She says her name is Mrs Chen," she said to the others. "She wants to thank   
us for saving her."

Mrs Chen seemed to have recovered. She suddenly got up and hobbled over   
to a cabinet, and took a box out. She opened it, to reveal a number of trinkets  
inside. She took a pendant out, and offered it to Jeanne.

Jeanne looked embarrassed, and quickly declined. Mrs Chen turned, and hobbled   
over to Harry and the others. She smiled when she saw little Robert, and caught   
hold of him and kissed him on both cheeks.

Robert seemed quite unembarrassed, and submitted to the kissing calmly.   
Mrs Chen then turned to Hermione and held the box out to her, indicating she   
should choose one trinket.

Hermione blushed and shook her head. Mrs Chen, seeing this, smiled, then seized   
a jade flower and pressed it into Hermione's hand.

"Just take it," said Robert, quietly. "It's not real jade anyway, and she'll be   
offended if you refuse."

Hermione pocketed the flower and nodded her thanks. Harry and Ron, fearing   
to be kissed in the same way as Robert, quickly took a trinket each and mumbled   
their thanks. Then Mrs Chen went back to Jeanne, and began talking earnestly to her.

Robert, seeing that Shan was outside, interpreted for them.

"She's thanking Jeanne for saving her," he said. "She wants us to come and visit   
her again. She wants to know whether Jeanne is married."

Mrs Chen was searching inside the box for something. She found it, and took it out.   
It was a pale pink jade brooch, in the shape of a pomegranate.

"She wants Jeanne to take the brooch," said Robert. "She says it will bring her   
good fortune."

Jeanne looked upset. She said something to Mrs Chen, and shook her head.

Mrs Chen looked at her and smiled, then suddenly pulled Jeanne to her and   
kissed her on both cheeks. She then fastened the brooch to the front of   
Jeanne's robes.

The wolf at the fireplace looked bored, and got up and slinked out of the hut.

Ron turned to follow. "Let's go outside, before she decides to give us another   
round of trinkets, or starts kissing us," he muttered to Harry and Hermione.

Hermione followed him out, but Harry was still watching Jeanne. Something   
didn't seem quite right. He turned to Robert.

"Does it mean anything, when you give someone a pomegranate?" he whispered.

Robert was watching Jeanne, and hesitated before replying.

"It's a symbol of fertility," he said softly. "It's usually given during weddings."

Jeanne had come over to them. There was a rather set expression on her face.

"Mrs Chen says she's all right now," she said. "She wants to take a rest."

They left the hut, leaving Mrs Chen at the door, smiling and nodding at them.

"Shan went to visit the Pandas," said Hermione, when they came out. "We can   
catch up with her. You haven't met them yet, have you, Jeanne?"

Jeanne seemed rather distracted.

"No, not yet," she said, rather absently. She remained silent a while, as they   
made their way beneath the creaking bamboos. Then, she suddenly stopped.   
She looked at the others, who were in front, then turned to Harry who was   
next to her.

"You go ahead, Harry," she said. "I'll catch up in a while."

Harry nodded and went on. However, after a few steps, he turned around   
and looked back.

Jeanne had taken the brooch off and thrown it on the ground. She took her   
wand out, her face expressionless, and pointed it at the brooch. A bright jet   
of light shot out of it and smashed into the brooch, shattering most of it into   
fine powder.

Jeanne tucked her wand back inside her robes. She stood for a while, looking   
at the shattered brooch, then raised her head and calmly looked at Harry.   
She then turned, and without a backward glance, walked off in the direction   
of the river.

A gentle breeze blew, and the fine powder on the ground was blown swiftly   
away. Then the wind blew even more strongly, and caught up the few larger   
pieces of the brooch that were still left. They spun around, and were whisked   
away. In a twinkling, all traces that the brooch had been there were gone.   
Nothing was left, except grass, and pebbles, and sand.  


- 


	9. The Translator

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------

  
**Chapter IX**

**_The Translator_**

  
_If you place me round your neck  
Then you will understand  
The Chinese language, spoken word,  
Said by any man   
  
_

**S**han seemed rather subdued over the next few days. Harry thought of asking   
her if anything was wrong, but with Robert sticking next to her all the time, this   
was impossible to do. His puzzlement over the matter was soon forgotten, anyway,   
by another more momentous event.  
  
One day before dinner, Pixie breezed into the room where they took their meals,   
and announced dramatically, "Master Liu Pei is back!"

"What?" exclaimed Fatty, looking startled. "Are you sure?"

"Of course!" she said. "I just had Potions" - she made a face - "and it was Liu Pei,   
not Lady Han-Yin, who conducted the lesson."

"But, does Master Yang-Kang know?" asked Hermione, looking rather excited.

Pixie giggled.

"That's just it!" she said, a curious gleam in her eyes, "No one knows where he is. The   
teachers have been searching high and low for him - he seems to have disappeared!"

There was a split second of silence, as they absorbed this piece of news, and then   
everyone started talking.

" - Liu Pei must have finished him off," said Fatty.

" - No more yelling during Black Way," Ron was looking relieved.

" - was Liu Pei wearing his onyx tiger?" asked Shan.

"Who will conduct our Black Way class?" Hermione looked worried.

They could talk of little else during dinner; after all, it wasn't every day that one of your   
teachers killed another in a duel. Pixie said that Liu Pei was indeed wearing his onyx   
tiger, and that she was sure he had killed Yang-Kang, because one of her classmates   
had overheard Lady Wen-Li asking him if he knew where Yang-Kang was, and the   
expression on his face had been very smug, although he said "no".

They were still talking about it when dinner ended, and were so absorbed that they   
forgot to tip Ting-Ting, until she gave a very loud and indignant squeak, and stood   
there, glaring at them, while they filled her little tray with coins.

Harry and Ron found Ping and Pong on their beds when they reached their dormitory.   
The two Pandas had become regular visitors, and the boys had become used to   
seeing their sad little faces suddenly appear at the window, like two masked bandits.   
Ping had attached herself to Harry, and would regularly hide various pieces of junk   
in different parts of his bed. Once, Harry woke up and found her trying to stuff an   
apple core down his neck, while on another occasion she stuck an old and broken   
comb in his hair.

The Pandas were not the only creatures that interrupted their sleep. Chee Chong   
had installed Chester, his cricket, in a little bamboo cage by his bed, and Chester   
had rewarded him by routinely chirping a loud and tuneful song every night.

On this night, Chester's chirping had just lulled Harry to sleep when he heard a familiar   
furry voice in his head again. He turned, and lay on his back. The voice went on.   
Something seemed rather odd about it. It wasn't speaking Chinese this time

Harry woke up. Ping was on his chest, tugging at something. He looked down, and   
found that she had somehow managed to put a pendant around his neck.

_I would like some honey_. The furry voice was speaking English!

Harry blinked. He picked Ping up, and looked at her.

"What did you say, Ping?" he whispered.

She looked at him for a moment, then batted at the pendant round his neck.

_Now you can understand me_. The furry voice had a satisfied tone to it.

Harry looked at the pendant, then took it off.

Ping looked reprovingly at him. She batted her paws at the pendant, and the furry   
voice came again, but in Chinese this time.

Harry put the pendant on again. Ping looked gravely at him, then yawned.

_I am going to sleep_. She turned her back on him, then curled up near his feet and   
went to sleep.

Harry took his wand out, muttered "_Lumos_!" so that light flared from it, then took   
the pendant off and held it near the wand. It looked like one of the dragon trinkets   
that he had seen in the Celestial City, made of green jade.

At this moment Fatty, who was a few beds away, sat up, looked at Chee Chong   
next to him, and hissed something at him in Chinese.

Harry extinguished his wand, and put the pendant on. All at once, he found that   
he knew what they were saying.

"Can't you tell your cricket to shut up?"

"He likes to sing till midnightit shows he's happy!"

"He's keeping all of us uplook, Mighty Mo's awake as well!"

"It's all right," said Robert, "I always have insomniaI usually don't sleep till the   
early hours."

Harry took the pendant off. The voices went back to speaking Chinese again.

He held the pendant tightly in his hand, feeling excited. There must be some magic in it,   
which made the wearer able to understand Chinese! But where had it come from?

After a while, Fatty and the others stopped talking. Chester also finally stopped chirping.   
Harry was wide awake. He was too excited to go back to sleep. Now he would be able   
to understand everything that was said around him!

He got out of bed and wandered over to one of the windows, wondering if he should   
take his Invisibility Cloak and roam around the palace a bit. Looking out at the grounds,   
he was surprised to see a figure walking toward the Pagoda from the direction of the   
bamboo grove. It looked like Jeanne.

Jeanne! She could talk to any animal, thought Harry. She could ask Ping-Ping where   
the pendant had come from.

He picked Ping up, still fast asleep, quietly carried her out of the dormitory, and   
waited at the top of the spiral staircase for Jeanne.

She had a troubled look on her face when she appeared; but her expression became   
one of surprise when she saw Harry.

Harry hurriedly told her about the pendant. Jeanne looked thoughtfully at it, but could   
give no explanation. Harry then shook Ping-Ping awake.

Jeanne said something to Ping, who looked grumpily back at her. Jeanne sighed,   
then turned to Harry and shook her head.

"She's in a bad mood, Harry. She's cross that you woke her up. She won't say anything."

Ping wriggled out of her arms and curling herself into a ball, fell to the floor. She   
bounced up and down a bit, then rolled back into the boys' dormitory.

They stood watching her as she disappeared inside, and then Harry turned to Jeanne.

"Are you practising your Internal Magic this late at night?" he asked.

She shook her head, and the troubled look was back on her face.

"I just went to see Mrs Chen again," she said, in a low voice. "Ididn't want to, at first,   
but she seemed so keen for us to visit her again that day, and I kept thinking of her,   
all alone there"

She was silent a while, a frown on her face.

"What's the matter?" Harry asked.

She looked soberly at him, for a moment.

"Harry, that old lady is dying," she said quietly. "I thought something wasn't quite right   
about her the first time we saw her, but I thought maybe it was because she'd just   
fallen into the river. But just nowshe looked worse. She seems to be thinner, and   
she's getting weaker. It's as if something is sucking the life out of her, slowly."

Harry stared at her.

"Hasn't she asked anyone for help?" he asked.

"She says she went to see the school Healer, but nothing could be done," said Jeanne.   
"She says she doesn't know why it's happening, either. She refuses to come and stay   
in the palace. She wants to stay in her hut, where she feels she belongs."

She sighed, and went to one of the nearby windows and looked out. Harry followed her.

"She's lonely," said Jeanne. "She wants us to visit her, especially Shan. She knows Shan   
because Shan often goes there to visit the Pandas, and she's taken a liking to her."

The door of the girls' dormitory, which was next to them, suddenly opened, and who   
should come out but Shan, with LeafSong coiled around her wrist.

"I heard voices. What - ?" and then she saw Jeanne. To Harry's surprise, her   
expression hardened.

Jeanne looked rather anxiously at her.

"I've just been to see Mrs Chen, Shan," she said softly, going over to Shan, "She's sick.   
She wants us to visit her, expecially you."

Shan looked at her, her face expressionless.

"Maybe," she said coolly. "I'll think about it." And then, to Harry's astonishment, she   
turned around and went back into the dormitory, and shut the door.

Jeanne stood there, staring after her. Harry looked at the closed door, then turned   
to Jeanne.

"She's been looking queer these past few days," he whispered, in case Shan could   
hear them from inside. "I don't know what's the matter with her."

Jeanne sighed, and bit her lip. She looked at Harry.

"Mrs Chen will be gone before we leave Tian-Long, Harry," she said quietly. "I can't   
just let her die there, all alone. I'm going to move my things there, and stay with her."

Harry felt rather worried.

"Can't we do anything?" he asked.

She hesitated, then shrugged.

"I'll ask around," she said, but her tone was uncertain. She gently put a hand on   
his shoulder.

"Go back to bed, Harry. Don't worry too much about it. Maybe it's just her time  
to go."

Harry went back into his dormitory, still feeling puzzled over Shan's behaviour.   
Jeanne was still standing at the window, looking out, when he closed the door.

Shan seemed her usual cheerful self when Harry saw her the next day, and he   
decided to let the matter rest for the moment. Only Fatty, Chee Chong and Pixie   
had lessons that morning, so he waited till they had left, and then showed Shan and   
Robert the dragon pendant. Ron and Hermione were also there, watching curiously.

Shan shook her head when she saw it, then handed it to Robert.

"It just looks like a normal pendant to me," she said.

"Say, Harry, d'you think I could borrow it?" asked Ron hopefully. His face was   
rather red, and he added hurriedly, "Pixie asked me to go out with her and her friends,   
sometime," - Hermione looked most disapproving - "and that pendant would save me.  
I know they'll all be talking away in Chinese."

Harry grinned at him and said, "Sure."

Robert was taking his time to look at the pendant. He turned it around in his hands,   
brought it to the window, held it up to the light, then came back.

"It's a Chinese Translator," he said. "Translators are usually used in the Intelligence   
Service - for spying."

He handed it back to Harry, and the rest all crowded around, peering curiously at it.

"Pretty cool," said Ron, looking fascinated. "No one would guessit looks just like   
a common trinket. Who d'you reckon Ping stole it from - Dimbleby?"

Harry couldn't tell him.

"What a pity all of us can't have one," said Hermione, looking longingly at it. "Then   
we can attend all of the classes here."

They met Master Liu Pei for the first time that day, during their Potions lesson. He   
was not as impressive-looking as Yang-Kang. He was old and stooped, with long   
greying hair and a wispy, ragged beard. His robes were grey as well, rather faded,   
and he had a mean and cunning expression on his face.

He gave them a complicated potion to prepare. Harry wasn't even sure what the   
potion was supposed to be used for, because Liu Pei had a tendency to mumble.   
Fortunately, they were given written instructions, and simply followed those. Pixie   
looked bad-tempered, as she tried to grind dragon's bones, which were extremely   
hard, into fine powder.

"This is the second time I'm doing this," she whispered to Ron. "He gave us the same   
potion to prepare the other day."

Harry was glad when the lesson ended. He wished Lady Han-Yin was still conducting   
the class. Many of Liu Pei's ingredients reminded him of the horrible slimy things he'd   
seen in Snape's office, and his arm ached from all the grinding; he hoped he'd never   
see another dragon bone again in his life.

"Too bad he and Yang-Kang didn't finish each other off," said Pixie dolefully, as   
they left the classroom.

Harry found Shan in the Green Dragon common room later that evening, holding a   
set of Robert's shabby robes, and trying to mend them with her wand.

"I'm no good at sewing," she said, as she ran her wand over a rip, and an untidy row   
of stitches appeared.

"Can't Robert mend them himself?" asked Harry. "He seems to be able to do most   
things."

She shook her head, and glanced at Robert who was sitting nearby, his face buried  
in a book. "His sewing is even worse than mine."

Ron came over to join them, looking rather distraught.

"Pixie got permission from Lady Wen-Li to go out tomorrow night," he said to Harry.   
"And I know she'll dress up; but I only have those horrible maroon robes. They look   
worse than ever - Mum fixed on the lace and frills again during the holidays."

"I tell you what," said Harry. "We'll get Jeanne to alter them. She's good at this sort   
of thing."

He looked at Shan. This will be a good opportunity to make her go down and visit   
Mrs Chen, he thought.

"She'll be at Mrs Chen's now," he said. "Shan, you'll have to show us the way there.   
It's dark, and we're still not that familiar with the grounds."

Shan looked reluctant, but Ron looked so anxious that she couldn't refuse.

They left Robert reading, and set off. The moon was out, but it became dark once   
they entered the bamboo grove, and they had to light their wands. The bamboo  
grove seemed a lot spookier at night, the branches creaking mournfully in the wind.   
A few rabbits scampered out of their way as they approached the hut, and several   
of the mountain wolves were lurking there, their eyes gleaming eerily in the light from   
the wands.

To Harry's annoyance, Shan refused to go into the hut, and stayed outside instead to   
talk to one of the wolves, pretending (so Harry thought) that she taken a fancy to it.

Mrs Chen was sleeping when they went in. Jeanne was sitting next to the fireplace,   
surrounded by herbs, quietly preparing some potions. She looked surprised to see   
them. She chuckled, though, when she heard of Ron's predicament, and looked at   
his dress robes.

"I'll see what I can do," she said.

Harry and Ron, not wanting to disturb Mrs Chen, went outside. Shan was sitting   
next to the wolf, talking cosily to it. Ron looked at her.

"She's a bit balmy, isn't she?" he whispered to Harry.

Jeanne didn't take long to alter the robes. She removed all the lace and frills, and   
changed them to a navy blue colour. They even looked rather elegant, and Ron   
was elated.

"Now, that's more like it!" he said, looking jubilantly at the robes as they walked   
back to the Pagoda. "She really knows how to do clothes. Shan, you should let   
her mend Robert's robes."

Shan remained silent. Harry felt even more puzzled than ever. Was it Mrs Chen   
Shan didn't want to see, or did she have something against Jeanne? She had been   
perfectly fine until that day by the river, when she'd discovered Jeanne was a   
shape-shifter. But why should she have a problem with that?

Pixie was positively glowing the following day, looking forward to that night's   
excursion. Ron, however, was a bundle of nerves.

"She's bringing ten of her friends along," he said to Harry. "I'll be the only male   
there. And I still can't use chopsticks properly."

"You can borrow Chee Chong's," suggested Shan. "He has a special pair, because   
he's so accident prone. They've been charmed so that they won't drop anything."

Pixie, noticing that Ron was looking edgy, cornered Shan and tried persuading her  
to come along.

"Ron already knows you," she said coaxingly. "He'll feel better if more of the people   
he knows comes along."

"Well, ask Harry and the others as well, then," said Shan, not looking enthusiastic   
at all.

Harry, however, had no desire to go out with Pixie's friends; and neither had Fatty,   
or Chee Chong.

"I have a mah-jong session," said Fatty.

"I must crean Chester's cage," said Chee Chong.

And they both disappeared.

Shan knew it would be useless to ask Hermione to go, so she said, "I'll only go   
if Robert goes."

Robert was sitting nearby, reading _Vorg the Vampire_.

"No," he said.

"Come on, Shan," Pixie begged. "It's for Ron. You don't want this to spoil the whole   
exchange programme for him, do you?"

"Well, who asked you to bring your friends along!" said Shan, exasperated. "All   
right," she said grudgingly, "I'll go."

She turned to Robert, and said grimly, "And you're coming too. I don't see why I   
have to suffer alone."

Robert looked at her, his expression unreadable because of his glasses.

"Hm," was all he said. And then he retreated behind _Vorg the Vampire_ again.

Harry lay awake in bed. He didn't think Ron would be back early, but he intended   
to stay up and find out how the night's happenings had gone.

Finally, he heard voices outside the dormitory, coming up the spiral staircase. He sat   
up in bed, and saw Fatty and Chee Chong also sitting up, wide awake.

"Couldn't sleep," said Fatty, nonchalantly. "Cricket kept chirping."

The door opened, and to Harry's astonishment, a stretcher floated in; Ron was lying   
on it, looking very green. Robert was next to the stretcher, guiding it with his wand,   
followed by Shan and Pixie. Hermione, who had obviously waited up for them as well,   
brought up the rear, and was hissing at them like an angry goose.

"What happened?" said Harry, watching, transfixed, as Robert guided the stretcher   
over to Ron's bed and slid him off onto it.

Ron moaned, and then retched. Robert obligingly conjured a paper bag for him.

"No need," he groaned, "there's nothing left to come out."

Pixie stood next to Ron's bed and looked sadly at him.

"Poor Ronniekins," she said, sorrowfully.

"Well, _what happened_?" demanded Fatty, impatiently.

Hermione glared at Ron.

"He's drunk, that's what," she snapped. "He should have more sense. It serves him   
right."

She turned around, and marched out of the room.

Shan, although she looked as if she felt sorry for Ron, also seemed to be trying not  
to laugh.

"We had some rice wine," she explained. "We didn't know that Ron can't drink. He   
had two small glasses, and they just knocked him out."

Ron seemed slightly better when he got up the next morning, but he had a terrible   
headache.

"It was awful," he told Harry. "There were twenty girls there, and I was the only   
guy - you can't count Robert. And I had the Translator on, but they were chattering   
so fast I didn't know what they were saying anyway. They kept looking at me and   
giggling. After dinner, we went to some kind of nightclub, and they ordered drinks.   
That's when I passed out."

Pixie looked penitent during breakfast.

"Ronniekins, I'll bring you to see the school Healer," she said.

"No!" said Ron. "I'd rather have the headache. I've heard of Chinese medical   
practices - they stick you full of needles."

Lady Han-Yin, however, noticed Ron looking indisposed, and was very angry with   
Pixie when she found out what had happened. She relegated Pixie to one corner   
of the Potions classroom, and made her prepare a complicated tonic for Ron,   
which tasted terrible, and didn't seem to make him feel any better.

Ron had given Harry the Translator back. Harry found himself looking at it throughout   
the day, and feeling restless. Since they had started taking their meals in the Pagoda,   
the autograph-hungry students had not been able to waylay him in the Hall of Dragons,   
but they had somehow managed to get hold of his timetable, and the minute he stepped   
out of class they would pounce on him. The first-years had stopped bothering him,   
but now the second and third-year students seemed to have jumped onto the bandwagon.   
They even seemed to know when a class had been cancelled, and when and where the   
makeup class would be held. Every time he tried exploring the school, whether alone or   
with the others, a crowd of ardent fans would come after him. It was already their fourth   
week at Tian-Long, and he still hadn't had a chance to have a good look around the palace.

Harry turned the jade pendant around in his hand, and made up his mind. That night, he   
was going to put his Invisibility Cloak on, and explore the palace properly.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Note from Kim/Starlight** :-

Hi, I know I am one of the most unresponsive of authors, but THANK YOU to all those who   
reviewed so far - I'm glad that you're enjoying the story. :o)

To** muggle genius** - Harry won't be talking to any dragons, because a parselmouth only talks to snakes.   
But you'll see him speaking more parseltongue in the next chapter, don't worry.

To **Ms DS Moony & NC Granger**, in Mirror's Gift chapter 4 Jeanne changed into a dragon as well as   
the animals in the school crest because the school motto is _Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus_,   
which I'm told means 'never tickle a sleeping dragon'.

Sometimes all the Chinese stuff can be a bit confusing, but if you have any questions to ask, pls feel  
free to email me at gryffindor1970@yahoo.com

:o)

-


	10. The Lady in the Scroll

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------

  
**Chapter X**

**_The Lady in the Scroll_**

  
_Dust and smoke surged from the nine-fold city walls,  
A thousand chariots, ten thousand horsemen  
The Lady knit her brows and was killed in front of the horses.  
Flowery hairpins fell to the ground, no one picked them up,  
And a jade hair-tassel.  
And later when he turned to look, the place of blood and tears  
Was hidden in a yellow dust blown by a cold wind._

_~ Song of Unending Sorrow   
Bai Ju-Yi, Tang Dynasty  
_

**H**arry waited until the others were asleep, then quietly wrapped himself in the Invisibility   
Cloak and made for the door. He would have asked Ron to come along, except that he still   
looked as though he was suffering from the after-effects of the rice wine.

As Harry went past Robert's bed, he saw that Robert was still awake, lying on his back and   
staring into space. He turned his head and looked at Harry, as he passed.

Harry stopped and looked back at him in astonishment. He tugged at the Cloak, to make   
sure it was really covering him. Robert, however, merely gave him a small smile, then turned   
around and faced the other way, and closed his eyes.

Feeling rather nonplussed, Harry quietly opened the door and went out. He made his way down   
the spiral staircase, and almost stepped on something slender and green, which was slithering   
down the steps.

"LeafSong?" he whispered, pulling the Cloak off his head.

LeafSong turned her head and looked up at him, her forked tongue tasting the air. She looked   
about as astonished as a snake could look.

Harry picked her up, and put her in his pocket.

"Where iss your body?" she hissed.

"I'm wearing an Invisibility Cloak," he explained to her, in Parseltongue. "Where are you going?"

"Shan hass gone to visit the dragonss, and left me behind," she hissed.

"At this hour?" Harry was surprised.

"LeafSsong planned to follow her, but she doessn't mind following Harry Potter, insstead," added   
LeafSong. "Where iss Harry Potter going?"

Harry figured there wouldn't be any harm in bringing her along; she was probably more familiar   
with the palace than he was, and could lead him back if he got lost.

"Just looking around the school," he said.

He made his way down the corridor that led to the Hall of Dragons. Passing the scroll painting   
of the thickly-forested mountain, he saw that the three tiny figures and the mule must have made   
it to the top, because they were now descending the mountain instead.

The three young maidens had stopped washing their clothes in the river, and were fast asleep.  
Harry tiptoed past them, then turned and went down the corridor that Fei Lian the Wind Ghost   
had come out of, that first evening.

He passed through corridors furnished with carved rosewood side-tables, on which delicate   
blue-and-white porcelain vases reclined. He came to a large courtyard, open to the sky, enclosing   
a garden filled with brilliant peonies and chrysanthemums, all whispering to themselves in the pale   
moonlight. There was a small pond there as well, covered with lotus blooms.

Harry wandered around the garden for a while, then went back into the palace. He went down   
another corridor, and came upon two ghosts armed with long wooden staffs, sparring with each   
other.

One ghost looked like a large monkey, standing upright, and tall as a man. It was extremely agile,   
leaping around and twirling its staff expertly. The other ghost, which was much shorter and had the   
head of a pig, was whimpering and looking rather tired and sulky. He dropped his staff, and the   
monkey promptly stopped and waited for him to pick it up, before continuing.

Harry went past the two, and turned down another corridor. He came to another Hall, as large   
as the Hall of Dragons, but it was dark inside and he couldn't see anything.

He went down another corridor.

"Do you know where we are?" he whispered to LeafSong.

He felt her move inside his pocket, and guessed that she was still peeking out.

"The teacherss have their officess here," she hissed.

The corridor was very dim, and Harry saw someone moving in front of him. The person went to   
a door and opened it, and moonlight fell onto him before he went in and closed the door. Harry  
recognised the slightly stooped figure and the grey robes; it was Master Liu Pei.

He went quietly forward, and was approaching Liu Pei's office when he saw another figure standing   
against the wall, opposite the office, waiting.

He stopped, wondering whether to proceed. The person looked like a lady. He couldn't be sure,   
but it looked as if she was standing several inches off the ground.

Harry waited a while, but the lady didn't move. There was something rather odd and two-dimensional   
about her. Finally, he went closer, and saw that it was not a person at all, but a life-size painting on a   
scroll, hanging right opposite Liu Pei's office.

Harry went right up to the painting. In the dim light, she really looked real. Perhaps he was imagining it,   
but she seemed to be watching Liu Pei's office.

At this moment, Harry heard a slight noise behind him. Turning around, he saw the Wind Ghost, Fei   
Lian, opening his sack of wind.

A blast of air hit him, catching the Cloak and almost blowing it away. He grabbed at it, overbalanced,   
and fell against Liu Pei's door. It burst open, and Harry found himself falling into the office.

Fei Lian swooped past, with Shen Yi the Archer in hot pursuit, holding his ball of fire. They dashed   
around a corner, and disappeared.

Harry looked around, expecting Liu Pei to come up, scolding him; but to his surprise, the office was   
empty. The office walls were lined with jars of Potions ingredients, and pale moonlight was spilling in   
through a window.

A soft sound from the corridor caught his attention. The lady had stepped out of her painting. She   
came over to Harry, who was still lying on the floor, and looked at him, and then around at the office.   
Harry saw that her skin was very fair, and that she was wearing robes of rose-coloured silk. Going   
back to the scroll which was now empty, she took it down off the wall, and rolled it up. She then   
beckoned to Harry, holding out a hand, and said something in Chinese.

Harry stood up, and took the Translator out and put it on. She looked gravely at him and said,   
"Come with me."

She closed the office door, then went over to the window. Gazing at the floor, she muttered   
something under her breath.

The outline of a stone trapdoor suddenly appeared in the floor at her feet. There was a scraping   
noise, and the trapdoor slowly slid open, revealing a flight of stone steps leading downward.

She smiled at him, then started to descend the steps. Harry hesitated, but LeafSong seemed   
enthusiastic.

"Let'ss go!" she hissed excitedly. Harry felt the rose-coloured witch didn't seem to mean him   
any harm, and his curiosity got the better of him, so he followed her down. He heard the stone   
trapdoor slide shut again, behind him.

He wanted to ask the witch who she was, but there was something confident and self-assured   
about her that made him feel she would have told him, if she wanted him to know. They reached   
the bottom of the steps, and she began leading him through a maze of broad corridors. At one   
point, Harry heard footsteps approaching. The lady said swiftly to him, "Put your Cloak on, and   
do not move." She quickly unrolled her scroll and hung it on the wall, and stepped up into it,   
becoming part of the painting again.

Harry put the Cloak on and waited. What looked like a patrol of six sentries went past, armoured   
and rather frightening to look at, with the heads of rats. When they had gone, the lady stepped out   
of her scroll again, and took it down. Harry took the Cloak off, so that she could see him, and   
they proceeded on their way.

Finally, she stopped in front of the entrance of a large tunnel, and turned to Harry.

"I can go no further," she said. "I am forbidden to enter here. Listen to me; you must put your Cloak   
on, and go down the tunnel, to the end. Eighteen doorways line the sides of the tunnel; do not go into   
any of them. The end of the tunnel opens out to a large cavern, where there is an underground lake.   
A bridge leads out to an island in the lake. There you will find a large bronze bell. Turn the lion's   
head on the bell, and the task will be done."

Harry hesitated. Was she trying to trick him?

"But - what task is this?" he said. "Why should I do it?"

She looked at him, then smiled and shook her head.

"She doess not undersstand English," hissed LeafSong. "You musst sspeak to her in Chinese."

"I can't," pointed out Harry. "Can't you speak to her?"

"She will not undersstand Parsseltongue," hissed LeafSong. "I can read and undersstand Chinese,   
but I cannot sspeak it."

The lady looked at him and said quietly, "I cannot tell you more. But this task must be done."

"We have to do as she ssayss," said LeafSong, "or she will not lead uss out of here. We will be trapped."

Harry didn't feel happy about the whole thing at all, but there was no choice. Turning, he put the Cloak   
on and went into the tunnel. It was dimly lit, and there was something very oppressive about the air in   
there. The horrible sounds of weeping and wailing, like tortured souls, could be heard emanating from   
the doorways lining the tunnel, and Harry would not have entered any of them for anything. At one   
point, a large ghost came drifting past them, dressed in sweeping robes, with a dark face, long beard   
and staring eyes.

After about ten minutes, they reached the cavern and the lake. The water had a curious reddish   
colour. At first Harry thought it was a trick of the dim light, but then he realised, to his horror,   
that it was blood.

LeafSong seemed unnerved too.

"Let uss do it quick, and get out of here," she hissed.

Harry made his way over the bridge. He could see the island in the distance, and a large silhouette   
on it which must be the bell. It was much taller than a man. Another figure could be seen next to it.

"There's someone there," he whispered.

He could feel LeafSong peeking out of his pocket.

"It iss Masster Liu Pei," she hissed.

As they came nearer, Harry could hear a muffled voice shouting. It sounded familiar, and it was   
coming from underneath the bronze bell.

LeafSong was listening too.

"It iss Masster Yang-Kang," she hissed. "Masster Liu Pei hass trapped him insside the bell."

They had reached the island. Harry pulled the Cloak more tightly around himself. Liu Pei had   
finished gloating over Yang-Kang, and came past them, making his way back across the bridge,   
looking extremely pleased with himself. Harry could hear Yang-Kang shouting and cursing from   
under the bell.

The bell was covered with strange bronze studs, and stylized gargoyles. They were all so hideous   
that Harry couldn't tell which was supposed to be a lion. Chinese characters ran underneath the   
row of gargoyles.

"LeafSong, you'll have to read the words," he whispered, taking her out of his pocket.

LeafSong gazed attentively as Harry slowly walked around the bell, holding her in his hand.   
At last, under the ugliest gargoyle, she hissed, "Thiss one."

Harry peered at the Chinese characters. The gargoyle didn't look the faintest bit like a lion.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yess," she hissed. "Quick, turn it, and let uss get out of here!"

Harry took hold of the ugly thing, and turned. It was very stiff, and he had to try three times   
before it finally moved.

There was a rumbling noise, and the island started to tremble. LeafSong, who had coiled herself   
around his wrist, hissed excitedly, "Quick! Run!"

Harry threw her back into his pocket, and began sprinting back across the bridge. He heard a   
loud, scraping noise, like metal shifting against metal, and turning back, saw the bronze bell slowly   
rising from the surface of the island.

The entire cavern seemed to be shaking now, and rocks were falling from the ceiling, falling into   
the dark blood with loud splashes.

Harry could hear Yang-Kang roaring in wrath as he emerged from under the bell. Turning as he   
reached the tunnel, Harry saw Yang-Kang bounding across the bridge. He had created a glowing   
Shield around himself, and rocks and stones from the ceiling of the cavern were bouncing off it.

Harry ran down the tunnel back to the entrance. There was no one there; the rose-coloured witch   
had vanished.

Yang-Kang came thundering down the tunnel and past them, his eyes blazing.

"LIU PEI!!" he roared, "I AM COMING TO GET YOU!!"

"Follow him," LeafSong hissed urgently, "or we will never get out of here!"

Harry turned and sprinted after Yang-Kang. He could hear the tunnel collapsing behind him.

He followed Yang-Kang back down the maze of corridors. By the time he reached the flight of   
stone steps, Yang-Kang had disappeared. Gasping for breath, Harry dashed up the steps, praying  
that the stone trapdoor had not sealed them in.

He reached the top, and found that Yang-Kang had burst the trapdoor into fragments. There was   
now a gaping hole in the floor.

Harry could hear sounds of fighting in the corridor outside, and he could see flashes of light through   
the door. He hesitated, wondering if it was safe to go to the door and look out; but then, something   
lying on Liu Pei's desk caught his eye.

He went over to have a look. It was a scroll, so old that it almost seemed to be falling to pieces.   
It was very dirty too, but Harry could roughly make out that half the scroll was covered with   
Chinese characters, while the other half had what looked like a star-map on it, except that he   
couldn't recognise any of the constellations there at all.

A piece of dark yellow silk also lay on the table, which must have been used to wrap the scroll.   
The seal on the silk had been broken. Harry turned it over to have a better look; there was an   
image of an animal on it, which looked like a five-clawed dragon, golden in colour.

He looked around the rest of the office. Liu Pei certainly seemed to possess a lot of things.   
Besides numerous bottles and jars of potions, there were also many bronze vessels scattered   
around the room, with complicated designs carved on them. A pile of dragon bones lay on a   
straw mat on the floor, and several boxes of rhinoceros' horns sat on a small table in a corner.

At this moment, he heard something hard falling to the floor of the corridor outside, followed by   
the sounds of someone fleeing. He went over to the door and cautiously peered out. Yang-Kang   
was standing at a window at the far end of the corridor, looking out. He then smashed his large fist   
onto the window sill, cursing. Liu Pei must have got away again.

He came stalking back down the corridor, and Harry, who had come out of the office, flattened   
himself against the wall. Yang-Kang stopped halfway, and picked something up off the floor.   
He held it up, a triumphant gleam in his eyes. It was the onyx tiger.

He placed it round his neck, then strode back to Liu Pei's office, Harry following curiously.   
He stood at the door of the office, and peeked in.

Yang-Kang pointed a finger at the hole in the floor, and it closed up immediately. He then strode   
out of the office, slammed the door shut, and disappeared down the corridor.

Harry stood where he was for a moment, wondering what to do next. He supposed he should   
go back to the dormitory; he'd had quite enough excitement for one night. LeafSong, however,   
thought otherwise; she wriggled out of his pocket and fell to the floor, and slithered over to the   
nearest window.

"Farewell, Harry Potter," she hissed, coiling herself up the leg of a table, and disappearing out   
the window, "LeafSsong iss going to look for Shan!"

Harry went over to the window and looked out, but the little snake had vanished. He stood   
there for a moment, wondering why Shan would want to visit the dragons in the middle of the   
night.

A slight noise in the corridor behind him made him turn around, and his blood froze. There in   
the distance, moving toward a door at end of the corridor, was a tall, hooded figure in black.   
It looked like a Dementor.

Harry stood still, his heart beating fast, watching as the figure disappeared through the door.   
What was a Dementor doing in Tian-Long? _Was_ it a Dementor?

He waited for a minute or two, but nothing further happened. He started making his way   
down the corridor. As he passed Liu Pei's office, he paused. The scroll on the desk intrigued   
him. He felt sure Liu Pei had been looking at it when Yang-Kang had come bursting in. He   
decided to have one more look at it

He opened the door, and saw immediately that there was now nothing lying on the desk;   
the scroll was gone.

Harry went over and looked around, in case the scroll had fallen to the floor. He got down on all   
fours and looked under the table. Nothing. The scroll had vanished, together with its silk wrapping.

Puzzled, he stood up, and after one last look around, turned and left the office. This was turning   
out to be an extremely queer night. Could Yang-Kang have taken the scroll without Harry noticing?   
Or had the hooded figure taken it?

He was halfway back to the Pagoda when he remembered Shan. Had she really gone to see the   
dragons? He stopped in mid-stride, wondering about it, and then his curiosity got the better of   
him again. Pulling the Cloak tightly around him, he made his way out of the palace and into the   
grounds, and headed toward the Caverns.

All seemed quiet when he reached the caves; the dragons were all asleep. Harry wandered   
around a bit, looking out for Shan. He had just decided that she must have returned to the   
Pagoda and was about to turn back himself, when he saw her at the far end of the cliff.

He took the Cloak off and made his way over. The ground in front of him was level, but to   
his right it fell away into a steep gorge. As he came nearer and saw her up close, he had that   
odd, familiar feeling again, and impatiently tried to push thoughts of Cho Chang away. After   
all, he now knew Shan better than he knew Cho.

"Harry!" she said, looking surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I met LeafSong in the Pagoda, and she said you were here."

They were standing below the entrance of a cave, some distance from the main caves where   
the dragons were housed. Shan, seeing that Harry was looking curiously at her, began to explain.

"The caves at this end of the cliff are empty, most of the time," she said. "But sometimes wild   
dragons will come to roost here. They're attracted by the herds of cattle that we rear to feed   
the tame ones, you see. They normally stay for a few days, then leave."

Harry was still puzzled.

"But - why d'you have to come looking for them in the middle of the night?"

Shan looked rather guilty.

"Because I want to fly them," she said, "and it's against school rules, to fly a wild dragon."

"Are you _joking_?" Harry stared at her. "That's crazy - it's downright dangerous!"

She looked serious.

"It's not, for me, Harry," she said. "I always do it. Don't go telling on me."

She started climbing up the slope toward the entrance of the cave. Harry hesitated for a moment,   
then followed.

"I'm always hoping that a Silverwing will come to roost," she said. "The school doesn't have any,   
and I've only managed to fly one once, long ago."

"What's so special about them?" asked Harry.

Her eyes took on a faraway look.

"They're the most intelligent of the dragons," she said. "They can blend perfectly with their   
surroundings - if you look up at them from below, they just look like part of the sky. And   
they're the only dragons who can Apparate."

They had reached the mouth of the cave. Harry stopped short.

"It may be safe for you to go in, but it won't be for me."

Shan laughed, and said, "Put your Invisibility Cloak on, and they won't know you're there."

Harry stared at her in surprise. He hadn't shown any of the Tian-Long students the Cloak;   
he'd always waited for them to go off first, before removing it.

"How d'you know about the Cloak?"

Shan went pink, and hesitated before replying.

"I hope you don't mind," she said. "I saw you taking it off, from a distance, once. I didn't tell   
anyone," she added quickly.

She continued climbing into the cave.

"Tell you what, I'll go in and have a look first. There should be a wild Bronzeback inside - I   
saw it fly in earlier."

She disappeared inside the cave, leaving Harry waiting at the entrance. After a few minutes,   
she came back, looking puzzled.

"The Bronzeback's in there," she said. "It's an old male. It seems to be unwell."

At this moment, the Bronzeback suddenly appeared, some distance behind her. It certainly   
looked unwell; it was lurching unsteadily from side to side, and flames were spewing randomly   
from its nostrils.

Harry took a step back, startled. Shan turned around and stared at it for a few seconds, then   
grabbed Harry by the arm and said, "I think we'd better leave."

They started scrambling down the slope.

"I can usually tell what a dragon is thinking," Shan said tensely, as they hurried down. "This   
maleit seems to think that we're going to attack it."

The Bronzeback was coming after them, its movements jerky and erratic. As they turned   
back to look, it suddenly lifted its head, and opened its jaws.

Harry found himself looking through a faint haze of light. Shan had raised a Shield in front of   
them. Fire issued from the Bronzeback's jaws; it was still some distance away, but Shan's   
Shield wasn't very strong, and Harry could feel the intense heat of the flames.

The haze of light dissolved and vanished.

"I can't hold it," she said, "Run!"

Harry took his wand out, and pointed it at the Bronzeback.

"_Impedimenta_!" he shouted. Then, he turned and ran down the slope after Shan. He knew   
the Jinx would not last long.

They had just reached the narrow stretch of level ground, next to the gorge, when they heard   
the Bronzeback coming after them again. Shan raised another Shield, just as another jet of   
flame came bursting out at them.

Shan swiftly unsheathed her sword, and held it in front of them so that it caught the flames and   
deflected them away. Harry flung another Impediment Jinx at the Bronzeback, sticking his hand   
through the Shield. Shan took a step back, and then lost her balance. The Shield dissolved,   
and Harry, turning, saw her fall and slide over the edge of the cliff. She grabbed at some bushes,  
and hung there, her body dangling over the gorge.

Harry got down on all fours, and leaning forward, tried to pull her back up. She looked up at him,   
her face pale.

"Get yourself out of here, Harry," she whispered. "I can feel the Bronzeback recovering. It's coming."

Harry heard the dragon roar from behind him. Instinctively, he rolled aside, and a jet of flames shot   
past him, shrivelling the grass where he had just been lying.

He snatched his wand out. He hadn't really practised stunning spells before, but he had to try.

"_Stupefy_!" he shouted, pointing his wand at the Bronzeback. Then he turned to look for Shan, and   
saw that the branches she had been holding on to had snapped. She was sliding over the edge of   
the cliff, and out of sight.

Harry ran toward her in a panic. What spells were there to stop someone falling in midair? He had   
almost reached the edge when he heard the Bronzeback scream. It had recovered.

Harry flung another stunning spell at it, but not before another jet of flame narrowly missed him.   
He lost his balance, and almost fell over the edge of the cliff as well.

He found himself lying on the ground. His stunning spell had missed the Bronzeback, and it was   
coming toward him at an alarming speed.

An ear-splitting scream suddenly rent the air. Another Bronzeback was hurtling through the air,   
making straight for the old male on the ground.

The old male retreated a few steps; flames shot out of its jaws, but seemed to have no effect on   
the tough hide of the second Bronzeback. It smashed into the old male, then began striking at it   
with its jaws.

Harry lay on the ground, watching as the two dragons fought. Finally, the old Bronzeback spread   
its wings, and took flight. The second Bronzeback screamed again, then launched itself into the   
air as well, in pursuit of the old male.

Harry lay there for a few seconds, then got up slowly. He found himself shaking slightly. He   
looked up at the sky, expecting to see more Bronzebacks appearing out of nowhere, but   
everything was still.

He suddenly heard a scrabbling sound coming from behind him. Turning, he saw Shan hoisting   
herself over the side of the cliff, her glasses slipping off her nose, and her robes all torn and muddy.

Harry hurried over to her. "Are you all right?"

She nodded and sat up, pushing her glasses up her nose.

"The ground levels out slightly, further down," she said. "I managed to climb up again."

She got to her feet, looking rather shaken. "What happened to the Bronzeback?"

"Another Bronzeback came," said Harry. "It chased the old male away."

Shan looked surprised. She saw her sword, which was lying on the ground a short distance away,   
and went over and picked it up. They then started making their way back to the palace. They   
walked in silence for a while, still trying to recover from what had just happened. Then, Shan   
turned to Harry.

"What were you doing, that you managed to meet LeafSong?" she asked curiously.

Harry told her about Yang-Kang and Liu Pei. He decided not to mention the scroll or the   
Dementor, though, for the time being, until he'd had more time to wonder about it.

Shan looked amazed, then grinned.

"Wish I'd been there," she said, looking rather enviously at him. "SoYang-Kang is back.   
And he managed to get the onyx tiger back as well! Liu Pei will probably show up again."

"Do you have any idea who the lady in the scroll could have been?" asked Harry.

She thought a while.

"She could be one of Yang-Kang's ancestors," she said. "People say that's how the feud   
started. There was a war, and someone from Liu Pei's family killed her in one of the battles."

They had reached Green Dragon Pagoda. Shan gave Harry a grin and went into her dormitory,   
still brushing mud off her robes. Harry, feeling tired, went into his, wondering what Ron and   
Hermione would say when he told them of the night's happenings.

He told them the following morning, but didn't mention the dragons because Shan had asked   
him not to. Ron was indignant, of course, that Harry hadn't asked him along.

"You were still feeling sick because of the rice wine," Harry pointed out.

Hermione looked both anxious and disapproving.

"You might have been killed," she said, "And if anyone had caught you wandering around,   
you would have got into trouble, and would probably have been sent back to Hogwarts."

However, both she and Ron were interested in seeing the lady in the scroll, so later that day   
they went back to Liu Pei's office to see if the painting was hanging outside; but it wasn't.   
They searched through the palace, but found no trace of the lady. It seemed that she had   
fulfilled her task, and had gone for good. Harry never saw the witch in the rose-coloured   
robes again.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Note from Kim** :-

My fanfic.net account has been giving problems lately, where I can't log in. I hope to upload one or   
two chapters every few days. If for some reason you do not see any chapters appearing after a long   
while, and you wish to read the rest of the story, please email me at gryffindor1970@yahoo.com


	11. The Jousting Tournament

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------

  
**Chapter XI**

**_The Jousting Tournament_**

  
_The dragons quenched their thirst beside the lake  
Where bathed the sun, whilst I upon the brake  
Fastened my reins; a golden bough I sought  
To brush the sun, and tarred there in sport._

_~ the Book of Songs,  
Spring and Autumn period  
  
_

  
**A** few days after that eventful night, Harry noticed Shan looking rather upset.

"A wild Bronzeback has been found dead, some distance from the Caverns," she told him.  
"I went to have a look at it; it was the old male."

Harry was surprised.

"The second Bronzeback must have killed it," he said.

Shan looked even more upset.

"I don't think so," she said. "It wasn't physically wounded at all. It was just lying there, as if  
it had died in its sleep. Chen-Kang couldn't figure out what killed it."

"Old age," suggested Harry.

Shan looked distracted. She took a few seconds to register what Harry had said, then shook  
her head.

"Well, it was sick, anyway," Harry reminded her.

She looked rather impatient.

"No one just finds a dead dragon lying out in the open, Harry," she said. "Even if it's sick, or  
dying, it'll go to a place where no one can find it, and die there."

She gave a small sigh, then picked her bag up and went off, still looking upset.

Harry stood staring after her. Robert, who had been standing by listening, looked at him.

"She blames herself for the dragon's death," Robert explained, in his quiet voice. "She thinks  
that something or someone must have killed it, after it flew off, that night. She thinks that if  
she hadn't gone there that night, it wouldn't have come out of the cave, and would still be alive."

He looked after Shan, as if thinking about something, then went to catch up with her. Harry  
watched him leave, feeling rather surprised. So Robert knew about Shan's night-flying activities.  
It seemed that there wasn't anything that Shan didn't tell Robert.

However, that wasn't the end of the matter. A few days later, another dragon was found dead.

"It was a Fireball, this time," Shan told Harry. "A wild one. No wounds again. Chen-Kang is  
getting worried; he's getting sentries to keep watch over the tame dragons."

The news of the dead dragons had travelled around the school. Even Fatty and Pixie were  
looking concerned.

"Chen-Kang thinks someone killed those dragons," said Fatty. "There are no marks on them.  
It's possible that someone killed them using magic."

Ron didn't seem too concerned that dragons were dying.

"What's all the fuss about?" he said to Pixie.

Pixie, for once, didn't giggle.

"To the Chinese, dragons are sacred, Ron," she told him, rather impatiently. "It's a terrible  
crime to kill a dragon."

Early the next morning, another wild Fireball was found dead.

"That is not good," said Chee Chong, later that morning in the Green Dragon common room.  
He was busily cleaning Chester's little bamboo cage. "The Jousting Tournament is tomorrow.  
We hope that no one will harm our tame dragons before that."

Hermione was watching Chester, who was crawling up Chee Chong's back.

"I never knew crickets were popular pets, in China," she said.

Fatty was sitting nearby, rewriting an essay. He seemed to have caught some of Chee Chong's  
accident-prone-ness, because someone had obviously knocked a bottle of ink onto his original  
essay.

"Crickets aren't usually kept as _pets_," he told Hermione, "They're usually reared for cricket-fights."

Ron looked intrigued. "Cricket-fights?"

Fatty nodded.

"Put two of these crickets together, and they're sure to start fighting. If you want, we can have a  
demonstration. I've got a friend who has a female cricket. I can ask her to bring it over, if you want."

Chee Chong looked indignant.

"Chester does not want to fight," he said, "He will get hurt."

"Nonsense," said Fatty. "It'll do him good. Maybe he'll stop singing at night."

Harry and Ron were keen, so Fatty sent one of his postal dragons off with a message, asking his  
friend to bring her cricket over. She came over presently, a hefty-looking girl also from White  
Tiger, carrying her cricket in a similar bamboo cage.

"Everyone, this is my friend Mui-Sing," said Fatty, "also from Hong Kong. We've had a number  
of joint ventures together."

Mui-Sing's cricket was called Mu-Lan. She looked almost identical to Chester, except that she  
was slightly bigger.

"That is not fair," protested Chee Chong. "She is bigger than Chester."

"Nonsense, only a bit, and besides, she's a female," said Fatty, a gleam in his eye. He looked at  
Mui-Sing. "I wager five gold pieces that Mu-Lan will not be able to fight Chester."

Mui-Sing's eyes flashed.

"Accepted!" she said.

Everyone, including all the other Green Dragon students in the room, crowded around to watch.  
The two bamboo cages were placed on a table, facing each other, and the respective owners,  
at a signal from Fatty, slid the doors open.

Chester came crawling out, his antennae waving excitedly. He hopped over to Mu-Lan, who  
was now sitting just outside her cage, and enthusiastically tried to make friends with her.

"Come on, Chester!" said Fatty, his eyes gleaming, "Go get her!"

Mu-Lan looked at Chester in a rather horrified manner, then retreated a few steps.

"Fight him, Mu-Lan!" cried Mui-Sing, slamming her large fist down on the table, and making  
the two contestants bounce up in the air. "Finish him off!"

Chester was still making friendly overtures to Mu-Lan, who was still retreating in dismay.  
Finally, she turned and leapt off the table.

"Mu-Lan! Come back and fight him!" shouted Mui-Sing. "You are going to make me lose  
five gold pieces!"

Mu-Lan, however, was hopping rapidly to the other end of the room, with Chester in hot  
pursuit, the students in the room quickly stepping out of the way, and laughing.

"You have given her the wrong name," said Chee Chong, watching Mu-Lan's desperate flight.

Fatty chortled, and looked smugly at Mui-Sing.

"Pay up, Ah-Mui," he said cheerfully.

Mui-Sing went over to the other end of the room, snatched Mu-Lan up, and put her back into  
her cage. Then, scowling, she threw five gold coins at Fatty, and left in a huff.

Fatty cheerfully pocketed the coins, and watched as Chee Chong returned Chester, who was  
looking rather lovelorn, back to his cage.

"That cricket is a good investment after all," he said, jingling his coins. "I can almost forgive his  
singing, now."

Shan and Robert didn't attend any of the exchange programme classes that day. They appeared  
at dinnertime, Shan looking rather tired, Robert his usual placid self.

"We've been practicing for tomorrow's tournament," Shan told the Hogwarts students. "Green  
Dragon is unlucky this year. Two of our Bronzebacks - there are five which belong to us - cannot  
be flown: one has a clutch, and the other is unwell. We have to let one of our team-mates fly  
WindStar. Chen-Kang and I had to go look for a wild Bronzeback this morning, and we've been  
spending the entire day getting to know him."

"You're going to fly a _wild_ Bronzeback?" squeaked Pixie, looking horrified.

Shan shrugged.

"We've already flown him, today," she said. "There's no choice. We can't take part in the  
tournament with only three dragons."

"Where is it being housed?" asked Fatty.

"They've hewn a new cave for it, near the tame Bronzebacks," replied Shan. "Chen-Kang has  
placed sentries nearby. He's not taking any chances, with the tournament tomorrow."

The day of the tournament dawned bright and clear. Harry and the others had been looking  
forward to it with interest, because they hadn't seen any of the students Jousting before. The  
Jousting practice area was two hours' walk away, and those practicing normally flew their  
dragons there. Harry regretted not bringing his Firebolt along; then he could easily have flown  
there with Shan and Robert, during one of their practices.

There were no lessons that day, and once breakfast was over, the entire school set out for the  
tournament site. Chee Chong brought Chester along, saying that he was lonely and that the  
tournament would cheer him up. Since the match with Mu-Lan, Chester had stopped chirping  
at night. He would merely sit in his little cage, looking rather depressed and lovelorn. Chee  
Chong had suggested that Mu-Lan be brought over to visit him, but Fatty and the others, who  
were secretly rather pleased that the dormitory was now quieter at night, promptly squashed  
the idea.

"So, what happens during the tournament?" Harry asked Fatty, as they made their way toward  
the coast.

"Each House fields four dragons," said Fatty. "Each dragon has two riders, a guide and a  
spellthrower. The guide controls the dragon - the dragons are not allowed to fight each other,  
they're penalised if they do; the spellthrower will try to unseat his opponent. Only two dragons  
can make it to the final round."

"Will the spellthrowers be using Internal Magic?" asked Hermione, hopefully.

"They can, if they want to," said Fatty. "But most people at our level aren't very good at Internal  
Magic. You normally have to go to an Internal Magic school if you want to learn it properly. No,  
most of the contestants use wands, but any of those who do use Internal Magic, like Robert, gain  
a lot more points."

They had been going steadily downhill, and the sea of swirling cloud could now be seen in the  
distance.

"Is this the only sport you have?" asked Harry, wondering what they would make of Quidditch  
when they came to Hogwarts.

"Oh, there are other tournaments during the year," said Fatty. "There's a Dragon Boat race, and  
duelling contests with swords and staffs; but the Jousting is the most fun to watch."

They were walking along the coast now, and the Hogwarts students looked at the sea of swirling  
cloud curiously. The clouds were in constant motion, and were breaking against the shore like  
normal sea waves.

"Wonder what it feels like," said Ron, as the waves crashed onto the shore, producing a sound  
just like normal surf. He leaned over the edge, and put his hand into one of the rock pools.

"It feels just like water!" he said, sounding astonished. He took his hand out, and looked at it.  
"But my hand's completely dry!"

Harry and Hermione stuck their hands in as well. The clouds did indeed feel just like water.

They stood there for a while, sticking their hands in, and waiting for the next wave to crash on  
the shore, to recede, leaving the ground perfectly dry. Then Fatty and the rest finally said they  
must go, or they'd be late.

"What's the tournament site like?" asked Hermione, as they turned and followed the path inland  
toward what looked like a rocky plateau.

"It's just there," said Pixie, pointing. "You'll see soon enough."

The tournament site turned out to be a huge crater, just next to the coast, hemmed in by walls  
of rock that were nearly vertical, into which stone seats had been carved. It was like an enormous  
natural amphitheatre. A maze of corridors had been hewn into the interior of the walls, and Fatty  
led them down several flights of stone stairs until they reached a level where the seats had been  
carved out.

"We'll sit slightly higher up, away from the others," said Fatty, taking several pairs of omnioculars  
from a large basket, "because all of us will be rooting for our respective Houses, and I know you'll  
want to cheer for Shan and Robert."

The amphitheatre was so large that the school only filled one corner of it. They found themselves  
sitting above a sea of green-robed students. Looking to his left, and downward, Harry could see  
the White Tiger students, followed by a sea of black-robed students farther down. The Yellow  
Dragons and Crimson Phoenix were almost opposite them, round the curve of the amphitheatre.

The omnioculars Fatty had handed to them looked quite old, and did not provide replay. Harry  
saw that some of the dragons had arrived. Looking through his omnioculars, he saw that they were  
all Bronzebacks. Their riders would fly a few rounds, to warm up, and then land them at the summit  
of a sheer, vertical cliff at one end of the amphitheatre, which Fatty said was called the Lookout  
Point. Harry could tell, by the colour of the robes of the riders, which House each dragon belonged to.

"Look," Chee Chong suddenly said, "There's Shan!"

Shan and Robert's dragon was easily recognisable. It was a much darker brown than the others,  
and its flying style was a lot wilder and more aggressive. They watched as Shan flew a few rounds,  
and then landed it near the other dragons, whereupon it reared its head and pawed the ground,  
impatiently.

"That is one wild dragon," remarked Chee Chong, watching in fascination, Chester perched  
mournfully on top of his head.

Hermione looked rather worried. "Can she control it?"

"Hard to say," said Fatty. "When the two of them fly WindStar, there's usually not much fight.  
Shan and WindStar seem to be able to read each other's minds. There's no use even placing  
bets on them winning, because no one wants to bet any differently, except maybe the Yellow  
Dragons."

Several rows of seats nearby were reserved for the staff. Harry recognised Lady Han-Yin,  
absently fingering her crystal ball, and a bit farther down, the hulking figure of Yang-Kang.  
He was wearing his usual glowering expression, most likely imagining the gory things he  
would do to Liu Pei when he found him. Next to him was Madam Tang, who was droning  
on and on about something, probably predicting the outcome of the tournament. Harry  
doubted if Yang-Kang was really listening.

Lady Wen-Li, who was seated next to Lady Han-Yin, now stood up. She raised her wand,  
and five large birdcages suddenly appeared to their right, suspended in the air in front of the  
cliff where the dragons were. Each cage was the colour of one of the school Houses.

"What are those for?" asked Ron, looking puzzled.

Pixie dimpled at him.

"For the scoring," she said, and then giggled when Ron continued to look bewildered.

"The height at which the cages are floating indicates your points," explained Fatty. "You  
gain points when you win a round, and lose points when you get a penalty. The indicators  
are shaped like birdcages because during the final round, a flock of sea-swifts will be  
released into the site. The guide will try to fly his dragon near the swifts, and the spellthrower  
tries to catch them with a special net. The minute each swift touches the net, it will vanish  
and reappear inside the respective House cage. To win the tournament, you either have to  
catch the most birds, or catch the Queen Swift. It's something like the Snitch in your Quidditch."

Harry was imagining himself racing around on his Firebolt, trying to catch swifts with a net.

"Queen Swift?" said Hermione, removing Chester from her shoulder, where he had managed  
to crawl, and placing him back on Chee Chong's shoulder.

"A flock of sea-swifts always migrates here around this time of the year," said Fatty. "They  
always roost on one of the ledges in the Caverns. We capture them when they're sleeping,  
and then keep them for the tournament. Each flock always has one Queen Swift. She's slightly  
larger than the rest, and flies a lot faster. You can recognise her because her plumage is  
different from the others."

"But won't the swifts just fly away?" asked Harry.

Fatty shook his head.

"Lady Wen-Li will place an invisible barrier around the site," he said. "The swifts won't be able  
to escape."

"Look!" exclaimed Hermione.

Lady Wen-Li had waved her wand again, and to the Hogwarts students' astonishment, they  
saw that part of the sea of cloud had detached itself from the main mass and was now drifting  
over the edge of the crater, pouring down the sides of the amphitheatre into the valley below.

"This is_ weird_," said Ron, as for a few seconds, nothing could be seen above them except for  
swirling cloud.

"What is it for?" Harry asked, as they watched the clouds settle at the bottom of the crater.

"She's charmed them to catch the students when they fall," said Fatty, grinning. "You don't  
expect them to fall to the crater floor when they've been unseated, do you?"

Harry was imagining students falling from the sky and bouncing up and down on the clouds  
like a trampoline, when Pixie gave a small squeal of excitement and tugged at Ron's arm.  
"They're starting!"

Someone's voice could be heard, loud and clear, giving the commentary in Chinese.  
Unfortunately, Harry had forgotten to bring the Translator, so he had to rely on Fatty  
and the others.

A pair of dragons had now flown into the centre, and hovered there, facing each other,  
till the signal was given. They then flew at each other, each striking viciously at its opponent,  
their guides trying to restrain them.

Looking through his omnioculars, Harry could see that one dragon belonged to Crimson  
Phoenix, while the second was from Yellow Dragon. The first student on each dragon was  
controlling the dragon, while the second was throwing spells at their opponent. The Yellow  
Dragon spellthrower was a lot more skilful than the one from Crimson Phoenix. He was  
Shielding himself and his dragon, so that the spells hurled at them by the Crimson Phoenix  
spellthrower merely bounced off, and was attacking the other aggressively.

Fatty was providing a running commentary in English, for their benefit.

"He's trying to petrify the dragon's wings - no, they've managed to Shield; now he's thrown  
a stunning spell at the guide - oh, their Shield isn't strong enough, the spell broke through  
the guide looks dazed."

The dragons had now raced to the other end of the amphitheatre. Harry noticed that both  
spellthrowers were only raising partial Shields, leaving a large part of the dragon unprotected.  
The Shields looked quite dim, unlike the strong, bright one he had seen Yang-Kang erect after  
he'd emerged from the bell.

"Why don't they just Shield the entire dragon?" he asked, as the Yellow Dragon Bronzeback  
suddenly lunged viciously at the other dragon, striking it on the head.

"Penalty!" shouted Pixie, grabbing Ron's arm in excitement.

"No one here is capable of raising a Shield large enough for a whole dragon," said Fatty, his  
eyes still glued to his omnioculars. "It's already difficult enough for most of us to Shield our  
own bodies alone. Oh - unseated!"

As Pixie jumped up and down, screaming in dismay, Harry saw the Crimson Phoenix  
spellthrower falling from the dragon, down to the sea of cloud. He disappeared beneath  
the surface for a while, then came bobbing up. The Crimson Phoenix Bronzeback came  
flying down to rescue him, hovering just above the surface of the cloud while the guide let  
a rope down and pulled him back up.

The Yellow Dragons were all shouting in triumph, while the other Houses looked grumpy.

"We always cheer for whoever is fighting against Yellow Dragon, whether they are flom  
our House or not," said Chee Chong.

Another pair of dragons had now flown in, one from White Tiger, the other from Black  
Tortoise. Harry watched the duelling with interest. The Black Tortoise guide wasn't handling  
his dragon very well. It kept rearing its head, and wanting to fly off elsewhere. The spellthrower  
was quite skilful, though, quickly raising Shields wherever spells were being hurled. He was  
conjuring up small, white balls of light, and throwing them, nonstop, at the other spellthrower,  
who instinctively twisted around in his seat, to fend them off. The White Tiger dragon suddenly  
lurched, and its spellthrower lost his balance, and fell off.

"No!!" yelled Fatty, watching as his spellthrower hit the clouds with a splash, while Chee Chong  
lifted Chester, who was sitting glumly in his hand, and said, "look, Chester, we've won!"

The Hogwarts students watched, fascinated, as the next few pairs of dragons came out. The  
spellthrowers seemed to have all sorts of tricks up their sleeves. Some would let off a barrage  
of small objects - Fatty said they could conjure any object, so long as it would not cause hurt  
to the other person - at the other side; one actually managed to body-bind one of the dragon's  
wings, so that it almost fell to the sea of cloud before its spellthrower managed to free it. Another  
obscured its opponent with pink clouds, so that they couldn't see, and then flew around and  
attacked them from the other side.

Finally, Shan and Robert came out. The Green Dragons all started screaming in excitement.

Fatty gave a small sigh and said, "Well, this will be a short round."

"Oh, they're fighting Crimson Phoenix!" squeaked Pixie.

Fatty was right; Shan had hardly brought the wild Bronzeback near the Crimson Phoenix dragon  
when Robert, who had created a large Shield so that the entire half of his dragon facing the  
opponent was protected, merely lifted a hand and pointed it at the other spellthrower, who was  
hurling spells non-stop at them with his wand. Robert's Shield was glowing bright and strong,  
and the spells all simply bounced off. The Crimson Phoenix spellthrower flew into the air, curved  
in an arc above his dragon, and then dove down toward the sea of cloud.

The Green Dragons were all cheering, while Pixie was watching gloomily.

"It's not fair," she said, sulkily.

"He's pretty good, isn't he?" said Ron, watching as the wild Bronzeback flew back to the Lookout  
Point.

"He's not bad," admitted Fatty. "But Yellow Dragon has a spellthrower who's fairly good. If they  
both make it to the final round, it'll be interesting to watch."

And that was what happened. Shan and Robert made it to the final easily enough, although the  
next few spellthrowers were much better than the first, and it took Robert a longer time to unseat  
them. Harry had a feeling Robert wasn't taking the tournament very seriously, either; he sometimes  
seemed to be merely playing with the other spellthrower.

The wild Bronzeback, unused to the sport, was also getting restless, and Shan had her hands full,  
controlling it. The Yellow Dragon Jousters, whom they would meet in the final round, were very  
aggressive players. They didn't seem to mind playing dirty, although it lost them points.

"They don't care," said Fatty, as they walked around during the Intermission, to stretch their legs.  
"They think that they can catch the Queen Swift, which will make up for all the points lost."

They were looking at the birdcages. Only the green and yellow ones were left now, because the  
other Houses were out of the final. The green cage was suspended higher than the yellow one,  
partly because Yellow Dragon had incurred so many penalties.

"Every time one swift is added to it, it'll rise slightly," Pixie said, and then added with satisfaction,  
"At least Yellow Dragon's losing."

At last, the Intermission was over. The students all wandered back to their seats, looking excited.

Lady Wen-Li stood up, and pointed her wand at the sky. A faint golden haze appeared,  
surrounding the entire amphitheatre.

"That is to keep the swifts inside," said Chee Chong, "Now they cannot fry away."

Shan and Robert flew their dragon into the middle of the amphitheatre, as did the Yellow  
Dragon contestants. Harry saw that Robert was holding a slim, long-handled golden net,  
and so was the Yellow Dragon spellthrower.

"The other spellthrower is Li Ning," said Fatty, "biggest bully in the school."

"He's big, all right," said Ron, looking through his omnioculars, "He looks three times the  
size of Robert!"

"They're starting," said Hermione, looking tense, "here come the swifts!"

A flock of about a hundred little birds had entered the amphitheatre from a door below the  
Lookout Point. They swooped around, and tried to fly out of the tournament site, but the  
glowing barrier held them in.

"They're really fast," said Harry, twisting his head around to watch the birds as they swooped  
and dived. He had an insatiable urge to jump on his Firebolt and see whether he could catch  
some of them.

The final round had started. They watched as the dragons swooped around, after the swifts.  
The wild Bronzeback looked as fresh as ever, and was racing after the swifts at an amazing  
speed. Shan was leaning forward, speaking to it, while Robert was holding the net out.  
Whenever it hit one of the swifts, the swift would immediately vanish and re-appear in the  
Green Dragon birdcage.

"Where's the Queen Swift?" asked Hermione, shading her eyes and peering up at the birds.

"They'll release her later," said Fatty. "The contestants are not supposed to try unseating each  
other until she appears. Right now they're just supposed to catch as many birds as they can."

The Yellow Dragon Bronzeback seemed rather tired, but its guide was urging it mercilessly on.  
Li Ning was proving very adept at catching swifts. Robert was at a disadvantage, because he  
was so much smaller, and his arms were a lot shorter.

"They're catching up," moaned Pixie, as the yellow birdcage rose higher and higher. Now that  
the other Houses were out of the game, they were all rooting for Green Dragon, and were  
shouting and yelling for all they were worth.

"There she is!" shouted Fatty, thumping Chee Chong in excitement, so that Chester bounced  
off his shoulder and onto the floor. The Queen Swift had come out from below the Lookout  
Point. She was a bright electric blue, and her plumage shimmered in the sunlight. She was  
larger than the other swifts, but she flew a lot faster, almost nothing but a blue streak, racing  
around the amphitheatre.

The two dragons were both heading after the Queen. The spellthrowers had handed their nets  
to the guides, and were concentrating on unseating each other. Li Ning threw a bolt of light at  
Robert, but Robert had already raised a Shield. The bolt hit it, and didn't quite penetrate, but  
was strong enough to dissolve the Shield. Robert quickly raised another Shield, then began  
pelting Li Ning with water bombs.

Harry glanced at the birdcages. They were almost level; whoever caught the Queen would win.

The dragons swooped around, after the fleeing blue streak. They were going so fast that it  
was almost impossible to follow them with the omnioculars. Shan reached her net out and  
took a swipe at the Queen, but at the same time the Yellow Dragon Bronzeback lunged at  
the wild one, knocking it sideways.

The Yellow Dragons all cheered, but the other students were shouting angrily. Li Ning  
suddenly hurled a bolt of light at Shan, and knocked the net out of her hand.

"UNFAIR!" shouted Pixie, jumping up and down.

Robert, still pelting Li Ning, now with rubber balls, pointed a finger at the falling net, and it  
shot back up to Shan.

The Queen Swift was now flying near the perimeter of the site, and darted past the Green  
Dragons, almost brushing the tops of their heads. Everyone ducked as the two dragons came  
hurtling past them.

Li Ning let off a cloud of black smoke, which enveloped the wild Bronzeback. It emerged  
almost immediately, but the brief delay had given the Yellow Dragons a slight edge, and they  
were now racing after the Queen. Robert threw a bright bolt of light at them, and it tore through  
Li Ning's Shield and hit the dragon's wing.

The dragon gave a roar of anger, and swerved. The Queen Swift shot away.

Robert was now pelting Li Ning with bright bolts of light, aiming at his waist.

"Is Robert trying to hit below the belt?" said Ron, his eyes still glued to his omnioculars.

"The spellthrowers are now strapped down," said Fatty, also peering through his omnioculars.  
"It makes them harder to unseat. Oh - he got through!"

Li Ning was also hurling bolts of light at Robert, but Robert's Shield was too strong, and they  
bounced off. Robert's bolts of light easily pierced Li Ning's Shield, and were obliterating his  
saddle straps. The dragons swerved around in the air, neck to neck, still racing after the Queen.  
Shan and the other guide were half-standing up, taking wild swipes at her with their nets.

Robert suddenly hurled a large ball of light at Li Ning's Shield, and it shimmered and dissolved.  
He then pointed at Li Ning, and Li Ning's body flew up in the air; but his hands were grasping  
his saddle, which was firmly attached to the Bronzeback. His body went up, then fell back down  
again, missing the dragon's body. He hung from the dragon's side, clinging to the saddle for dear  
life, his legs dangling in mid-air.

His partner turned around to pull him back up, and their Bronzeback fell behind. Shan urged the  
wild Bronzeback forward, and it seemed to shoot through the air, after the Queen. A loud moan  
erupted from the Yellow Dragon students, but this was drowned out by the cheering from the others.

"She's almost got it!" yelled Pixie, jumping up and down, and screaming in excitement as the wild  
Bronzeback zoomed past them, its nose almost touching the Queen. Shan was standing up, clinging  
to her riding straps with one hand, the other with net extended.

At this moment, something unexpected happened. A beam of brilliant white light suddenly shot out  
from somewhere above Harry and the others, straight at the wild Bronzeback. It narrowly missed,  
and hit the glowing barrier above the amphitheatre. The barrier glowed brightly for a split second,  
then dissolved and faded away.

The Bronzeback gave a scream of anger and swerved, almost hitting the cliff below the Lookout  
Point. In a twinkling, all the swifts, including the Queen, flew up out of the amphitheatre, and were  
gone.

Everyone on the ground was silent for a moment, watching in disbelief. Another bright beam of  
light shot out at the circling Bronzeback. It missed again, and smashed into the birdcages. They  
cracked, and the swifts inside all flew out.

Shan was now rapidly guiding the Bronzeback away from Harry's end of the amphitheatre,  
fleeing from the source of the beam of light. Robert raised a bright Shield around the entire  
Bronzeback. A wave of angry murmurs was running through the students now, and they were  
all on their feet, looking up at the summit above Harry and the others.

Another beam of light shot out from that direction, straight at the fleeing dragon. It sliced  
through Robert's Shield, and smashed straight into the Bronzeback.

The Bronzeback screamed in agony, and then it was falling. Down, down it plunged, diving  
head first into the sea of cloud, Shan and Robert still clinging to its back.

Harry and the others were on their feet too, watching in shock. Lady Wen-Li stood up. She  
looked pale, and very angry. Half the teachers sitting with her had got up as well, and were  
swarming angrily up to the summit to look for the attacker. The other participants, who had  
been watching from the Lookout Point, mounted their dragons and were also flying over.

Lady Wen-Li and the rest of the teachers and students were making their way to the bottom  
of the amphitheatre, Harry and the others following.

"Oh, they have drowned!" wept Pixie, almost hysterical.

"Don't be idiotic, Pix," said Ron, hurrying down in front of her. "The clouds can't even make  
you wet. How on earth can anyone drown in them?"

To Harry's relief, as he reached the edge of the clouds, he saw Shan and Robert's heads  
come up in the distance, bobbing up and down.

One of the other Green Dragon riders flew her Bronzeback over to them, and pulled them  
out. As they came back to land, Harry saw that the Bronzeback was WindStar.

"What happened to the wild Bronzeback?" asked Hermione, looking rather worried.

They wanted to make their way to the front, where Shan was, but all the other students had  
pushed forward, and they couldn't get through.

Lady Wen-Li raised her wand and pointed it at the sea of cloud. The clouds rose up in the  
air and began drifting up the sides of the amphitheatre, back to the coast again. The floor of  
the crater was now visible, and the wild Bronzeback could be seen. It was lying motionless  
some distance from them, its head thrown to one side.

Some of the teachers were making their way toward it. The Green Dragons were now  
crowding around Shan and Robert, so Harry just sat to one side with the others, waiting  
for things to calm down.

Presently, the teachers came back, and those who had gone to the summit to look for the  
attacker also gathered there. Fatty pushed his way through the crowd to find out what was  
happening. He came back a while later, looking sober.

"Dragon's dead," he said. "No wounds on it. Not even a broken bone, because the clouds  
broke its fall. They couldn't find the attacker either. He or she must have Disapparated.  
Must be the person who's been killing all the dragons. Tournament's cancelled, as well.  
Lady Wen-Li is furious - she's forbidding anyone to go anywhere near the Caverns from  
now on."

"Are Shan and Robert all right?" asked Hermione, looking anxious.

"Shan's more upset about the dragon than anything," said Fatty. "Robert just looks like  
Robert."

The teachers were making their way back up, out of the amphitheatre. After a while, the  
students all stopped crowding around Shan and Robert as well, and went off. Harry and  
the others promptly went over to them.

As Fatty had said, Robert was looking as calm as ever, but Shan was rather pale. She  
stood up when she saw them, brushing dirt from her robes.

"Yes, yes, we're fine," she said, obviously not wanting them to make a fuss. "Let's just  
go back. WindStar's still around - we can hitch a ride."

There wasn't enough room on WindStar, as the other Green Dragon riders were there,  
so Fatty, Ron and Pixie decided to walk, while the rest mounted the dragon and flew back.

Shan was quiet all the way back to the Caverns. When they arrived there, Hermione,  
feeling that Shan probably wanted to be left alone, said she was going to the library - Harry  
assumed she must have found some books in English there - and Chee Chong decided to  
bring Chester for a walk, so the remaining three walked back to the Pagoda.

Robert was his usual silent self, and Shan didn't speak until they had reached the top of the  
spiral staircase. She then gave a small sigh, and turned to Harry.

"Sorry the tournament had to end this way, Harry," she said, looking sober. "It normally  
doesn't, you know. There's always a big party after that."

"But - you more or less won, anyway," said Harry. "You tied with Yellow Dragon on  
points, and you almost caught the Queen."

She just sighed, and shook her head, then looked gloomily at Robert.

"First time we haven't won the trophy, in four years," she said, with a rueful smile.

"That means I don't have a birthday present for you, this year," remarked Robert.

She looked at him, then laughed softly.

"I've told you countless times, there's no need - and you ought to keep the money for  
a change, anyway."

She turned, and went off to the girls' dormitory to change her robes.

Robert stood there, looking after her, then noticed Harry looking curiously at him.

"My family's not well off," he explained to Harry, "so I usually can't afford to get Shan  
a present for her birthday. I normally let her keep the prize money instead." He turned  
back to look at Shan's disappearing figure, then gave a small shrug. "Looks like I'll have  
to find something else, this year."

"You could conjure something up for her," Harry suggested.

Robert was still looking after Shan.

"Maybe," he said. He took his glasses off and cleaned them on his muddy robes, his  
expression thoughtful.

"What she needs, I can't conjure up, and money can't buy, anyway," he said absently,  
as if talking to himself.

Harry looked at him, puzzled. "What would that be?"

Robert put his glasses on again.

"Self-worth," he said. And after that he lapsed back into his usual silent self, and refused  
to say another word. 

Shan was so fond of dragons that Harry expected to see her looking upset over the next  
few days, because of the killing of the Bronzeback. However, on the evening of the  
following day, she appeared before dinner looking rather excited, and took him to one  
side.

"A wild Silverwing has moved into one of the end caves," she whispered, with a conspiratorial  
air. "I'm going to try flying it later tonight. Want to come along?"

Harry looked at her, surprised.

"Are you _still_ going to the Caverns?" he said. "What about Lady Wen-Li's orders? Wait a day  
or two, Shan. They might catch the killer. The Silverwing'll probably be around for a while."

"There's no guarantee of that!" she hissed, looking impatient. "I'm not going to let this chance  
slip. I've been waiting for this Silverwing for years!"

She tugged excitedly at Harry's sleeve.

"Come _on_, Harry!" she said, her eyes eager. "Robert won't come - he's flown with me too  
often. I tell you, there's nothing like flying a Silverwing! It can Apparatethere's nowhere  
that it can't bring us, tonight!"

Her enthusiasm was infectious, and Harry, looking at her, began to feel excited as well.  
Surely there was no harm in taking a short flight. The killer must know that everyone was  
looking for him, and was probably miles away by now. The prospect of sneaking out of  
the school in the middle of the night to fly a wild dragon that could Apparate seemed very  
inviting. So he agreed, and later that night when the rest had fallen asleep, he took his  
Invisibility Cloak, and met Shan outside the dormitory. They put the Cloak on, so that  
the green watch-dragon would not notice them leaving the Pagoda, and made their way  
through the grounds, and over to the Caverns.

-


	12. The Silverwing

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------

  
**Chapter XII**

**_The Silverwing_**

  
_I won't forget this special night.  
My friend and I,   
We touched the sky -  
And saw a thousand stars aglow.  
We saw the Great Wall, awesome sight  
Ancient cities, Dragon's Pass,  
A lake all filled with shining stars  
And timeless mountains capped with snow.  
  
_

**I**t was dark, and Harry could hardly see where they were going, but Shan led the way  
confidently. They were approaching the bamboo grove when she suddenly stopped.

"Someone's coming," she whispered.

They waited where they were, holding the Cloak firmly around them. Presently, two figures  
came toward them, from the direction of the Moon-Gate. Their wands were lit, and Harry  
had a glimpse of their faces as they passed.

"It's Jeanne and Professor Lupin!" he whispered, startled.

He felt the Cloak shift as Shan leaned forward to look.

"Is that Chien-Mei's husband?" she whispered, sounding interested. "What is he doing here?"

Jeanne and Lupin disappeared into the grove, obviously making for Mrs Chen's hut.

"WellI guess he's come to see her. After all, they haven't been married that long," said Harry,  
as they continued on their way. But he felt doubtful; it was the middle of the night, and Lupin's  
face had looked too serious for this to be a mere social visit. Harry wondered if something had  
happened; but he had no time to think about it, because they had reached the Caverns.

The Silverwing had lodged itself in a cave one level above the one where the old male Bronzeback   
had been. It was dark within, and Harry could hardly see anything inside; the cave appeared to be   
empty. He stood at the entrance, the Invisibility Cloak around him, watching as Shan went confidently   
to one corner, and spoke to something nestled against the wall.

He thought he could see something long and sinuous, moving slightly in the gloom. Then Shan came   
back, looking pleased.

"He has agreed to let us fly him," she said, "including you. You can take the Cloak off, now."

Harry, the memory of the old male Bronzeback still fresh in his mind, removed the Cloak off his head.

"Are you sure you know what it's thinking?" he said suspiciously. "Maybe it just wants to make an   
easy meal out of the both of us."

"Don't be _silly_," she said, laughing. "I tell you, I know what's in a dragon's mind. This one is really   
intelligent. He said he would give us a good ride."

At this moment, the sinuous figure detached itself from the wall and came over toward them.   


Harry instinctively pulled the Cloak back over his head, and retreated out of the cave.

The Silverwing emerged from the cave entrance. It was large, with a fringe of fine spikes around   
its face. Its scales were silver, and glittered in the faint moonlight. It paused just outside the entrance,   
and seemed to know where Harry was, its yellow reptilian eyes staring at the spot where he was   
standing.

Shan went over to the Silverwing, and it turned its cold stare on her.

"He says you can take the Cloak off, Harry," she called out, rather impatiently. "Do hurry up; we   
don't have the whole night, you know."

Harry removed the Cloak. It was embarrassing - she was a girl, and younger than him, but he was   
the one feeling apprehensive. He tucked the Cloak into his robes, and went over to the dragon.

Shan had mounted the Silverwing. Harry hesitated a moment, then climbed up and seated himself   
behind her.

"Put the Cloak over both of us," she said, "so that no Muggles will spot us. The Silverwing won't   
be seen by anyone - its camouflage will make it look like part of the sky. And hold on to the spike   
in front of you."

Harry covered both of them with the Cloak, then took hold of one of the blunt spikes that protruded  
from the dragon's back. As he did so, he happened to look in the direction of the school. For a brief   
moment, he thought he saw a figure in the distance, coming toward them; but then, the Silverwing   
launched itself into the air.

The school and the grounds were dropping away, getting smaller and smaller. They were soon flying   
over the Celestial City, and over the sea of swirling cloud. Then all at once the Silverwing dived   
downward, and through the clouds.

Harry blinked. They seemed to have entered another world altogether. He looked up, expecting   
to see a layer of swirling cloud above, but the sky was clear, and filled with stars. Harry had never   
seen so many stars before; there were millions of them. They hung above him, sparkling with a fire   
that seemed almost alive, so large and bright that he thought he might be able to reach a hand out   
and touch them.

He looked down. The Silverwing could hardly be seen; only a faint outline was visible. It was   
almost as if they were riding on the crest of a wave of moonlight. It was cold now, and far below,   
he could see wisps of cloud, and through that, land. He could see a large city to his right, and   
farmland to his left, separated by hills in between.

He couldn't see Shan in front of him, because of the Cloak, but he suddenly heard her voice.

"Hold on, he's going to Apparate!"

Harry heard a soft Pop! and for a split second, he couldn't see anything before him. He felt as   
if he himself had become nothing, formless and non-existent. Then another slight jerk, and the   
world re-appeared. He looked down. Mountains were below him: huge, snow-covered mountains,   
with jagged and cruel peaks. They stretched out below him, in a never-ending mass of snow and   
rock, the snow glowing luminous in the moonlight.

It was very cold. He drew his normal cloak closer to himself, and heard Shan's voice coming   
from the front.

"He says these are part of the Himalayaswe are near Tibet."

They flew over the mountains for a while, coming quite near to some of the jagged peaks, then Shan   
called out, "Hang on!" and the Silverwing Disapparated again.

This time, they reappeared over desert. Sand dunes stretched away in all directions. Harry looked   
down, and saw the beginnings of what looked like a large stone wall far below, crumbling and   
ruined, which snaked away before them, disappearing into the horizon.

He heard Shan's voice coming from the front.

"That is the beginning of the Great Wall of China," she said. "The Chinese built it, more than a   
thousand years ago."

They were flying high up, following the Wall. It snaked on and on before them, always   
disappearing into the horizon.

"How long is it?" Harry asked Shan.

"Very long," she answered. "Hundreds of miles. It stretches almost the entire length of China."

The Silverwing suddenly swooped lower, so that they could see the Wall more clearly. The   
country surrounding them was deserted; no villages or towns were visible. But on the Wall itself,   
Harry saw many figures moving. All along the Wall, the figures were visible, walking in an aimless   
manner. He wondered what so many people were doing there in the middle of the night. A great   
sadness seemed to emanate from them.

Shan must have been looking at them too, because Harry presently heard her voice.

"Those are the ghosts of the people who built the Wall," she said softly. "Thousands of them died,   
building it. They died cruelly, and cannot rest now. They are always there, every night, wandering   
along the Wall. But the Muggles can't see them; only we can."

Harry looked at the ghostly figures. He was glad they weren't near enough to see their faces.

As if the Silverwing read his thoughts, it suddenly climbed upward, and Disapparated again with   
another Pop!

They were over a deserted city, lying in a valley surrounded by mountains. Part of the city seemed   
to be in ruins, but there were still many graceful buildings left standing. Harry thought he was   
imagining it at first, but as the Silverwing flew closer, he saw that it was true : most of the city   
seemed to be made of jade.

The Silverwing landed in a square in front of a large palace with walls of pale green jade. Shan   
pulled the Invisibility Cloak off them, and turned to Harry.

"This is the City of Eternal Spring," she said, "which one of the Dragon Emperors built hundreds of   
years ago. The wizards who lived here left long ago - I don't know the reason why - and it lies here,   
forgotten. The first Silverwing I flew brought me here, some time back."

She handed the Cloak to him, and then dismounted.

"Come on," she said, grinning up at him, "let's have a look around!"

Harry dismounted, but as he followed her toward the jade palace, he glanced back at the Silverwing   
which was lying there in the square, beginning to doze off.

Shan seemed to read his thoughts.

"Don't worry," she said, looking amused, "he won't fly off. He'll still be sleeping when we come back,   
wait and see." She went up the palace steps, and went in through a large, circular door.

Harry flicked another glance at the Silverwing, then followed her.

It was quiet within, and Harry had the oddest feeling that time had stood still, in this place. They   
went through rooms and corridors and halls, all strangely dust-free and elegantly furnished. The   
floors were of polished marble, and porcelain vases and celadon bowls lay on carved tables, made   
of a hard, black wood inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Each room had a name, set in Chinese characters   
carved over their doorways.

"This is the Hall of Celestial Purity," read Shan, as they entered a large hall with floors of black   
marble. They had lit their wands, because it was dark inside. They wandered around the hall for   
a bit, looking at the ornate carvings of birds and animals on the walls, then left through a door at   
the opposite end; this led to a library, with thousands of scrolls neatly lodged in little alcoves.

"Hall of Quiet Thoughts," read Shan, looking at the inscription above the door, which, like most   
of the other doors in the palace, was of the folding kind, intricately carved and finely latticed. The   
scrolls were all dust-free and in good condition, but Harry, of course, couldn't read any of them.

They noticed another set of folding doors at the far end of the library, and sliding these open,   
found that they led out to a large garden. A stream was running through it, the water falling   
among rocks and stones and producing a pleasant tinkling, musical sound. A pavilion, made   
of white jade, stood in the middle of the garden.

"The garden is called The Garden of Cheerful Melodies," said Shan, reading from an inscription   
on the pavilion, "and the pavilion is The Pavilion of Tranquillity."

Harry could see why this place was called the City of Eternal Spring. Although it was already   
November, and some of the surrounding mountains looked as if they had snow on their peaks,   
it was not cold where they were. Flowers were blooming in the garden, rhododendrons and   
peonies, and the trees all had pale green foliage, as if it were springtime.

They stood listening to the music of the stream for a few minutes. Then, something else caught   
Harry's attention: he thought he could hear the faint murmur of voices, in the distance.

"Listen!" he said, "Do you hear something?"

Shan paused, frowning, then her face broke into a smile.

"I know what that is," she said, chuckling, "Come and have a look."

She started off in the direction of the voices. As they came closer, Harry saw who the speakers   
were : tortoises. There were at least fifty of them, scattered around one corner of the garden,   
some gathered in groups, others trundling about on their own. There were all sizes : large ones,   
measuring two feet across, and small ones the size of a teacup. They came in a variety of colours,   
some a rich chocolate brown, others olive green, while the little ones tended to be pale cream.   
And many of them were talking - in Chinese!

Shan looked amused when she saw Harry's surprised face.

"We have some of these in Tian-Long," she said, "only you haven't met them yet. They live in   
a peach orchard near the lake."

"What are they saying?" asked Harry, feeling in his pocket for the Translator. Two small tortoises   
had lumbered up to him, and were looking earnestly at him with their boot-button eyes. One   
began speaking, in a squeaky voice.

Harry found the Translator, and put it on.

_  
"Why choose to live here,  
in the recess of high mountains?  
For an answer, a serene smile  
from the depths of my heart.  
Just like the flowers drifting   
downstream  
to remote places unknown,  
Here, under another blue sky,  
is a remote space of mine  
Far, far away from human lives."_

  
Harry blinked. The tortoises looked at him solemnly, and then the second one began talking   
as well.

  
"_A bright moon rising  
above Tian Shan Mountain,  
lost in a vast ocean of clouds.  
The long wind,  
across thousands upon thousands of miles  
blows past the Jade-gate Pass."_

  
Shan was still laughing at Harry's astonished face.

"They are reciting Chinese classical poetry," she said. "They can go on and on forever.   
Goodness knows where they learned all of it."  
  
  
"_Thousands of feet high tower the Yellow Mountains  
with their thirty-two magnificent peaks_"

  


"Don't they ever say anything else?" asked Harry, fascinated.

Shan shook her head.

"They'll sometimes sing a bit of Chinese traditional music, but I've never known any to   
speak normally."

  
_"blooming like golden lotus flowers  
Amidst red crags and rock columns_"

  
"I wonder if they know what they're saying," said Harry.

Shan was conjuring up some strawberries with her wand. The tortoises stopped talking   
when they saw them, and came lumbering determinedly toward her, their small club feet   
thumping on the ground.

"Here, take some," she said, handing Harry several of the plump fruit. They sat there for a   
while, feeding the tortoises, watching them mumbling the strawberries in their mouths, the   
juice running down their chins. After a while, the other tortoises noticed what they were   
missing out on; they came converging onto Harry and Shan, who promptly decided it was   
time they made an exit.

To Harry's relief, the Silverwing was still sitting in the square outside, fast asleep. Shan  
went over to it, and gently woke it up.

"Where to, now?" asked Harry, as they mounted the dragon and covered themselves with   
the Invisibility Cloak.

"I don't know," Shan said. "I'm just letting him bring us wherever he wants to go."

As they soared into the air, Harry glanced down for a last look at the jade palace. He was   
just turning away when he thought he saw a dark figure suddenly materialising in the square   
below. He turned back for a closer look, but at that moment, the Silverwing Disapparated.

When they re-materialised, Harry saw that they were following the Great Wall again. Ghosts   
were still wandering around on top of the Wall, and watchtowers could now also be seen at   
intervals along it. They flew on, then the Silverwing Disapparated again, reappearing over water.

"We have reached the sea," Harry heard Shan's voice saying. "We've gone from one end of   
China to the other. Look, you can see where the Great Wall ends."

Harry turned back to look. He saw land behind him, and the remains of the Great Wall. The   
Silverwing swooped around a bit, then began flying inland. They came to a rugged, deserted   
stretch of country, and saw another city in a valley, deserted but not in ruins, the magnificent   
buildings, which had roofs of gold and silver, all perfectly preserved.

The Silverwing swooped low over the city, but did not land. Harry heard Shan speaking to   
the dragon.

"He says we can't land here," she called back. "This is another city of wizards, the City of   
Supreme Elegance. He says that it's enchanted, and death will come to anyone who sets foot   
on the soil here."

They flew on, the country becoming wilder and wilder. They went through a narrow gorge, a   
river snaking its way below. Then the gorge widened, and Harry saw that at its head, the rocky   
walls of the mountains had been carved into enormous dragon heads, one on either side.

"This is called Dragon's Pass," Shan's voice said. "There is a legend that two brothers lived here,   
both great sorcerors. Both fell in love with a princess of a nearby kingdom. But she only loved   
one of them, and the rejected one, in anger and out of jealousy, turned her into a dragon, and   
she flew away and never returned. The heartbroken sorceror killed his wicked brother, and then   
carved the dragon heads into the mountain, in memory of her."

They flew on, and presently came to a lake, high up in the mountains. The water was so still   
that its surface was like a mirror. The Silverwing flew low over the water, almost skimming it.   
Harry took the Cloak off, and looking down, could see their reflections clearly. Surrounding   
them were the images of bright, sparkling stars, reflected from the sky.

Then the Silverwing flew up and away from the lake, landed on a level stretch of mountainside,   
and folded its wings.

Shan dismounted.

"He wants to rest here, for a while," she told Harry. "I guess we can walk around a bit."

They left the Silverwing, which had already fallen into a doze, and walked around the side of   
the mountain so that they could get a view of the lake.

"I've never seen the stars so bright before," remarked Shan, looking up at the sky.

True enough, the stars were really bright. The lake lay like a sheet of glass, reflecting the clear   
sky and its twinkling stars.

They sat at the edge of the cliff, looking at the lake. Shan seemed to have fallen into a reverie,   
and was gazing unseeingly into the distance. It was extremely quiet; all seemed still, except for   
the sound of the wind, blowing over the mountain-tops.

Harry had been looking for an occasion to ask Shan why she didn't want to visit Mrs Chen,   
but seeing that her mind was elsewhere now, decided not to bring it up. He looked away from   
her, and tried not to think of Cho Chang. He found himself thinking that it was strange to be   
sitting at the edge of a cliff in the middle of nowhere, next to a girl who liked talking to dragons,   
and with a sleeping wild dragon lying somewhere around the corner of the hillside behind him.   
He felt far removed from the world of Privet Drive and his life with the Dursleys, and the   
comfortingly familiar world of Hogwarts. He thought of Ron and Hermione; he would have   
asked them to come along, but Shan had said that she wasn't sure if she could talk the   
Silverwing into carrying more than one non-dragon-language-speaking person.

The wind over the mountain-tops was blowing more strongly now. It sounds strangely human,   
thought Harry, almost like someone's voice.

Shan had noticed it as well. She started, and sat for a while, listening, then suddenly jumped   
to her feet.

Harry looked up at her, startled. "What's wrong?"

She was looking rather pale.

"Do you hear that?" she whispered, her eyes wide, "It's a voice! Someone's voice, calling   
among the mountains!"

Harry listened. The wind did, indeed sound like a man's voice.

"It's only the wind, Shan," he said, trying to calm her down.

She looked agitated.

"It's not!" she hissed fiercely, "I tell you, I've heard that voice in my dreams. It's real!"

Harry looked at her, feeling rather perplexed. She was trembling slightly.

"It's a ghost," she said. "I always hear it in my dreams. It's coming after me."

She took a few steps back, looking frightened. Harry got to his feet.

"Shan," he said, trying to think of something to calm her, "it's just the wind. What's up? You're   
not afraid of fire-breathing dragons. What's to fear from a dream?"

The voice of the wind was even louder now. It sounded as if it was coming toward them. Shan   
looked very pale. She turned, and started walking back toward the Silverwing.

"We have to get out of here," she said, not looking back, or waiting for Harry.

Harry followed her, still feeling perplexed. The wind continued to blow. Harry could hear it better   
now; it really sounds like a voice shouting, he thought. He could hear it, over the sound of the   
wind. It sounded angry. He wanted to turn around and look for its source, but with Shan so agitated,   
decided not to.

They found the Silverwing fast asleep. Shan leapt up onto the dragon's back, and impatiently patted   
its neck, to wake it up.

Harry hurriedly mounted, in case the dragon took off without him. He wondered if Shan had gone   
slightly mad. The Silverwing stirred, then settled back again; it didn't seem to want to wake up.

The voice was coming loud and clear now. It didn't sound like the wind any more. It really _is_   
someone, thought Harry. Someone who sounds angry. Someone whose voice also sounds   
vaguely familiar

Shan, still trembling slightly, gave the Silverwing a slap, and said something urgently to it. The   
dragon shifted irritably; two plumes of smoke curled upward, out of its nostrils. It raised its   
head briefly, then lowered it again, obviously wanting to go back to sleep.

The owner of the voice was coming round the side of the mountain. A tall, dark figure appeared.   
Harry started; he knew that figure.

"Shan," he whispered urgently, tugging at her sleeve. "It's not a ghost, Shan. It's Yang-Kang!"

Shan turned her head to look, an astonished expression on her face. Yang-Kang, on seeing   
them, let forth a roar of wrath. All at once, the Silverwing stirred. It raised its head, and turned   
to look at him.

At the same time, Yang-Kang, who was now about twenty feet away from them, took hold   
of the onyx tiger. To Harry's alarm, he raised it high in his fist. A beam of brilliant white light   
shot out of it, directly at him and Shan.

"Get off, Shan!" he shouted, grabbing hold of her and pushing her off the Silverwing, so that   
the dragon was between her and Yang-Kang. He then jumped off himself, and found himself   
rolling in the dust.

The beam of light smashed into the Silverwing. It let off a bellow of rage, and a stream of fire   
erupted from its jaws, heading straight for Yang-Kang.

Harry threw the Invisibility Cloak over Shan and himself, so that Yang-Kang wouldn't be able   
to see them, and they retreated a distance away. Yang-Kang had lowered the onyx tiger, and   
had erected a glowing Shield around himself in time; the flames engulfed him, but could not   
penetrate the Shield.

Yang-Kang raised the tiger again. Another beam of light shot out of it, through the Shield,   
and smashed once more into the Silverwing.

"He's not after us," said Harry, startled. "He's after the Silverwing!"

He couldn't see Shan, but he could feel her leaning forward to watch.

"Look at the beam of light," she whispered. "The onyx tiger really _is_ a Devil's Curse. That's   
what hit our wild Bronzeback during the tournament. It was Yang-Kang - he's the one who's   
been killing the dragons!"

The Silverwing was screaming in agony, the beam of light still burning itself into it. It released   
another stream of fire at Yang-Kang, who still had his Shield up.

"He's killing the Silverwing!" said Shan, sounding agonized. "We've got to stop him!" She   
started forward.

Harry held her back.

"You're crazy, Shan," he said. "Look at Yang-Kang. He's gone completely madhe'll kill us   
before we take two steps forward."

The Silverwing, writhing in agony, tried to take flight, but the beam of light from the onyx tiger   
was still driving into it. It gave an ear-splitting shriek, and thrashed about, fire pouring out of its   
jaws and shooting in all directions. Harry and Shan hurriedly backed away, out of range of the   
flames.

"That's one tough dragon," said Harry, remembering how the wild Bronzeback had died almost   
immediately.

"But why? Why go after the dragons?" said Shan hopelessly, and then, even as Harry himself   
realised the answer, he heard her catch her breath, and knew she had realised it too.

They watched as the Silverwing writhed in agony, flames still pouring from its jaws, setting the   
grass and bushes around it alight. Yang-Kang, an almost maniacal light in his eyes, was still   
holding the onyx tiger aloft, concentrating the bright beam of light onto the dragon. But the   
effort was taking its toll on him : his shoulders were beginning to sag; his Shield was starting   
to dim and weaken.

"Yang-Kang's putting too much of himself into the Devil's Curse," murmured Shan. "It's   
sucking all his power out of him."

All at once, the Silverwing let forth one last, wailing scream, and then slumped onto its side,   
its head hitting the ground, which seemed to shake at the impact. It lay there, motionless.

Abruptly, the beam of light vanished. Yang-Kang had lowered the onyx tiger. He stood   
there, watching the Silverwing, as if waiting for something to happen.

Harry and Shan stood where they were, holding their breath. The dragon lay there,   
unmoving. Then, it started to shrink. It was changing shape; its wings were growing smaller   
and smallerits scales were disappearing

Yang-Kang, swaying unsteadily on his feet, gave a roar of triumph. The Silverwing was gone;   
Master Liu-Pei, in his pale grey robes, lay there instead, his eyes wide open and staring, an   
agonized expression on his face.

"Liu Pei must have transformed into a dragon that night, when he escaped through the   
window," Harry said quietly. "Only he flew away too fast, and Yang-Kang couldn't tell   
what type of dragon it was. That's why he went after all the different types."

"And only the wild ones," murmured Shan. She sounded rather sick. "The tame ones we've   
had for years, and they were all accounted for. He knew Liu Pei would come back, to get   
the onyx tiger."

Yang-Kang lurched forward suddenly, dropping the onyx tiger. He sank to his knees, then   
fell to the ground and lay still.

Harry took the Invisibility Cloak off himself and Shan, and saw that she was looking worriedly   
at Yang-Kang.

"He has put too much energy into the Devil's Curse," she said. She went forward, knelt next   
to him, and felt his pulse. "I think he's dead."

Harry looked around. The landscape, which had seemed so beautiful a short while before,   
now suddenly looked grim and forbidding.

"What are we going to do now?" he said.

"We must bring both of them back to Tian-Long, and tell Lady Wen-Li what happened," said   
Shan, with a dutiful air, looking at the two bodies on the ground.

"Oh, right, Shan," said Harry, a bit distraught, and feeling rather exasperated at her obtuseness,   
"and how are we going to do that? In case you haven't noticed, the Silverwing's gone, and we're   
in the middle of nowhere, miles away from Tian-Long!"

Shan did not reply immediately. She continued kneeling next to Yang-Kang, staring at his body,   
a rather odd expression on her face. Then she stood up, and looked at Harry. She seemed to be   
considering something, trying to make up her mind. Finally, she spoke.

"There is a way," she said, looking directly at him, "but if I tell you, you must promise never to   
tell anyone."

Harry stared at her.

"What is it?" he said. "Don't tell me you know how to Apparate."

She returned his gaze, frowning.

"Promise me, first!" she said insistently. "Swear you won't tell anyone!"

Harry looked at her, feeling rather perplexed again.

"All right, I promise."

She took a few steps back, still looking at him. Then, slowly, she began to change shape.

Harry watched her, startled. She was growing bigger and bigger, and her body was lengthening.   
Scales were appearing on itwings were sprouting

Harry took a step back himself, and stared in amazement. Shan had disappeared; instead, a large   
green dragon stood in her place, wings extended, head raised, eyes staring balefully at him.

- 


	13. The Truth About Shan

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------

  
**Chapter XIII**

**_The Truth About Shan_**

  
_You said you would come, but you did not  
I cry for you forever gone, I cannot waken yet  
Far beyond my reach is the Enchanted Mountain,  
And you are on the other side, ten thousand peaks away._

_~ Li Shang-Yin, Tang Dynasty  
  
_

**T**he dragon stood there for a few moments, gazing at Harry. Then all at once it lowered   
its head, and began to change shape and shrink. Before long, Shan was standing there again,   
looking rather anxiously at him.

Harry found his voice.

"You're an Animagus!"

She continued looking at him for a moment, then gave a small sigh. Turning, she went over to   
the edge of the cliff and sat down, letting her legs dangle over the edge.

Harry went over, and stood looking down at her. "What's the matter?"

She was silent for a moment, then looked up at him.

"I didn't want anyone to know about this," she said, sounding rather depressed. "To the Chinese,   
the dragon is a sacred creature. They consider it presumptuous, for someone to transform into   
one. That must be why Liu Pei never told anyone about it."

Harry looked at her. Was this why she had been so cold to Jeanne lately?

"Are you a shape-shifter too, like Jeanne?" he asked.

She was staring down into the gorge. "Not really."

Harry was thinking. Dragons usually sleep at night. That night, when the old male Bronzeback   
came after themwhy had the second Bronzeback appeared? It should have been fast asleep.

"That was _you_, that night, wasn't it?" he said. "You were the second Bronzebackyou chased   
the old male away!"

She looked at him solemnly, then nodded.

"Then you _are_ a shape-shifter," Harry said, trying to get things clear. "You can transform into   
more than one type of dragon!"

She shook her head.

"Not really," she said, looking down into the gorge again. "I'm only a partial shape-shifterI can   
only change into a few types of animal."

Harry was surprised. "Which ones?"

She hesitated, before replying.

"Well any type of dragon," she said, not looking at him, "And" she gave him a quick glance,   
then stopped.

Harry was beginning to feel very puzzled.

"And - ?" he prompted.

She fidgeted a bit, tugging at the right sleeve of her robes.

"And, any type of snake," she said in a small voice.

Harry glanced at her pocket, from which LeafSong normally peeked. He looked down at his   
Invisibility Cloak, which was still in his hands.

"Shan," he said, "That night, when I met LeafSong on the stairs, she said you went to see the   
dragons."

She turned to look at him, her face expressionless.

"But I only went over to the Caverns much later," Harry continued. "You should have flown   
whatever wild dragons there were, roosting in those caves, by then."

Her face was still expressionless. Her lips, however, twitched slightly.

Harry sat down next to her, and looked at her.

"But you were still standing at the entrance when I got there," he said.

Her eyes were twinkling now.

Harry frowned at her.

"Tell me," he said, in an ominous tone of voice, "that night, when I let Yang-Kang out from   
under the bell, that _was_ LeafSong in my pocket, wasn't it?"

Shan's lips twitched again, and then, she couldn't control herself. She looked at him, and grinned.

Harry glared at her.

"Do you mean to tell me," he spluttered, "that I was carrying _you_ in my pocket, all the time?"

Shan chuckled, and patted his shoulder affectionately.

"Don't be angry, Harry," she said. "I helped you, didn't I? You wouldn't have known which   
gargoyle was the lion, if I hadn't been there."

Harry regarded her grumpily.

"Why didn't you just tell me who you were?" he said crossly.

She became serious again.

"I told you, I didn't want anyone to know that I can transform," she said, looking shamefaced.

Harry stared at her.

"Well, I won't tell anyone," he said. "Besides, it's fair and square now, isn't it? After all, you know   
about my Invisibility Cloak."

She nodded, then sighed and got up, brushing sand off her robes.

"We have to go back," she said. "The sky's already beginning to brighten. I'll change into a Silverwing,   
and Apparate us back. You'll have to tie Yang-Kang and Liu Pei's bodies to my back."

Harry looked at her suspiciously. "Are you sure you know how to Apparate?"

"Of course," she said airily, looking mischievously at him, "When I'm a Silverwing, that is."

They went back to where Yang-Kang's body was lying. Harry saw the onyx tiger on the ground,   
and he bent down and gingerly picked it up, and put it into his pocket.

"What are we going to tell Lady Wen-Li?" he said.

Shan sighed.

"The truth, I guess," she said. "Lady Wen-Li already knows that I can transform - she's the only   
one, besides you and Robert, and Chen-Kang. She'll probably give me a lot of demerits, but I'm   
sure she'll let you off - she's really keen for the exchange programme to be a success."

  
It felt strange to be riding a dragon alone, especially when Harry knew that the dragon was actually   
Shan. They arrived at Tian-Long soon enough, and placed the bodies in one of the empty caves.   
They then went to look for Lady Wen-Li.

The students were having breakfast in the Hall, but Lady Wen-Li wasn't there. They found her in   
her office, together with Master Kung and, to their surprise, Chen-Kang. Chen-Kang lived near   
the Caverns, and he very seldom came to the palace. Harry guessed he had probably come to   
discuss the killing of the dragons.

Shan was right. Lady Wen-Li did indeed let Harry off, because she was so relieved that the   
mystery of the dying dragons had been solved. Master Kung was very interested in the onyx   
tiger; he examined it for a while, then calmly put it in his pocket.

"I will keep this, for now," he said to Harry, "It will not do for it to fall into the wrong hands." He   
paused, and looked at Shan, who was talking to Lady Wen-Li at the other end of the room. "It is   
better that no one knows Li-Shan can transform, so the official story shall be that Yang-Kang killed   
the Silverwing here in the school grounds, and that Chen-Kang saw it happening, and witnessed   
both their deaths."

Shan looked rather subdued as she and Harry left the office.

"While you were talking to Master Kung, she gave me fifty demerits," she said. "I guess it could   
have been worse. She also told me that the Potion that we prepared for Liu Pei - the one with   
dragon bones in it - is supposed to help one to counteract an attack by the Devil's Curse. That's   
why the Silverwing took so long to die. They found a large supply of the Potion in Liu Pei's office -   
he's been making all the students in the school prepare it for him, and he must have been drinking   
a bit every day."

The others had been wondering where the two of them had gone, of course. Harry decided he   
wouldn't tell Ron and Hermione about the Silverwing. Ron would be cross that he hadn't been   
asked to come along, and Hermione would be disapproving. Besides, it would give away the   
secret of Shan's night-flying. The two of them split up, and appeared in class separately. Harry   
gave the excuse that he'd tried exploring the palace again, and had overheard Master Kung and   
Chen-Kang talking about Yang-Kang killing Liu Pei. This story successfully distracted all of them.

"You mean - Yang-Kang killed all the dragons?" said Ron, looking startled. "But - we saw him   
sitting with the teachers that day!"

"Yes, but he disappeared before the final round," said Hermione. "I noticed, but I thought he just   
went to sit elsewhere, to get away from Madam Tang. And he appeared laterhe was one of the   
teachers who went to have a look at the dead Bronzeback."

Pixie looked cheerful.

"That means we won't have Liu Pei for Potions any more," she said happily.

  
--------* * *---------

  
Harry now knew a bit more about Shan, but he still hadn't solved the puzzle about her behaviour   
toward Jeanne, whom she continued to be cool to. She also refused to go and see Mrs Chen.

"I don't think she's aware that Mrs Chen is dying," Jeanne worriedly told him a few days later,   
when he went down to the hut to see how things were. "I've tried telling her, but she doesn't   
seem to want to listen to me."

Mrs Chen was looking worse. She had become very thin and pale, and didn't seem to recognise   
Harry when he went to sit by her bed, as she used to. Jeanne was spending nearly all her time   
at the hut now. She had even stopped attending her Internal Magic classes.

"I told Master Kung what's happening," she said. "He was quite sympathetic he even said   
I could Portkey back here every week for lessons, after I return to Hogwarts, if I don't finish   
learning all that I'm supposed to."

Harry left, feeling sorry for Mrs Chen. She didn't look like she would last another week.

He was right. The following day, Ron was busy with Pixie, Hermione was in the library, and   
Robert was buried in a book, so Shan brought Harry to the peach orchard near the lake to   
see the school's Talking Tortoises. It seemed that winter did not come to Tian-Long either :   
though it was November, the peach trees were in full bloom, as if it were spring. The ground   
was covered with fallen peach flowers, and it felt as if they were walking on a pale pink carpet.

There were thirteen tortoises altogether, all of them small and engaging, the largest about the   
size of a large teapot. The two of them had brought their homework along, and had just settled   
down near two tortoises who were singing Chinese opera to each other, when a postal dragon   
appeared and flew over to Shan with a note.

Shan read the note, and a frown came over her face. She placed it in her pocket, and dismissed   
the dragon.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Nothing," she mumbled, and turned back to the tortoises. However, Harry noticed that she   
wasn't really listening to them. She was staring at them unseeingly, as if her mind was elsewhere.

Ten minutes later, another postal dragon appeared. Shan looked impatiently at it, then took the   
note and dismissed it. She dropped it in her pocket without even reading it.

Harry was puzzled, but Shan's face was like a thundercloud, and he knew he wasn't going to get   
anything out of her. They sat in silence for a while, concentrating on their assignments.

Finally, half an hour later, a third dragon arrived with a note.

Shan lost her temper. She shouted something at the dragon, then stormed off to the other end   
of the orchard.

The dragon gave a quizzical chirp, then looked at Harry. It came over to him, dropped the note   
in his lap, and flew off.

Harry unfolded the note. It contained only one line.

_Shan, she's gone. Why didn't you come?_  
  
Harry folded the note, feeling sick. He recognised the handwriting; it was Jeanne's. Mrs Chen   
was dead. She must have wanted to see Shan, and Jeanne had sent the dragons to call her, but   
she hadn't gone. What was the matter with her?

He went over to Shan, who was sitting in a corner of the orchard, scowling at a horn-coloured   
tortoise who was singing what sounded like a Chinese folksong.

"Shan," he said, looking down at her, "Mrs Chen is dead."

She looked pale.

"I'm not going," she said, not looking at Harry. "You can go, if you want. I'm staying here."

Harry stared at her for a moment. He felt an urge to grab her by the shoulders, and shake some   
sense into her. If Mrs Chen had still been alive, he might have dragged her down to the hut, but it   
was too late now. Shan was staring at the ground, ignoring him, so after a while he turned and left   
the garden, and made his way to the bamboo grove.

There were no animals outside the hut when he got there. He went in. Jeanne was there, head   
bowed, sitting next to Mrs Chen's still body. To his surprise, Professor Lupin was there as well,   
standing next to Jeanne, a hand on her shoulder.

Jeanne jumped up when she saw Harry, an angry expression on her face.

"Where is Shan?" she burst out. "Why didn't you make her come? The dragons told me you   
were there with her!"

Lupin put an arm around her, and said quietly, "You can't blame Harry, Jeanne; he couldn't have   
made her come if she didn't want to."

Jeanne gave a long, shuddering sigh, and covered her face with her hands for a moment, then   
lowered them. She looked very tired.

"I have to inform Lady Wen-Li," she murmured. She gently removed Lupin's arm from her   
shoulders, and made her way toward the door. She stopped when she came to Harry.

"I'm sorry I shouted at you, Harry," she said, not looking at him, "but she was asking for Shan all   
day. You don't know what it was like"

She stopped; Harry could see traces of tears on her face. She sighed, then placed her hand on his   
arm and gave it a squeeze, and turned and left the hut.

Harry watched her go. Lupin came over and stood next to him, also watching.

"She - she looks pretty upset," said Harry.

Lupin's face was sober.

"She has reason to be, Harry," he said quietly. "It isn't only the old lady's death. Something else   
has happened : Deorg has disappeared."

Harry turned to look at Lupin in surprise.

"I only told her last night," Lupin said. "About a week after all of you left for China, Professor   
Bubcek sent us a letter. He's had people trailing Deorg over the last few years. Deorg has been   
wandering around Siberia for most of that time, but he has now vanished without a trace. No one   
knows where he is."

Harry felt a chill in his heart. That Dementor he'd seen in the corridorit could have been Deorg   
instead. It had been too dark to see clearly, but Deorg, as Harry remembered, was tall, and   
hooded and robed in black too

He looked at Lupin. He couldn't tell him about the hooded figure without giving away the fact   
that he had been wandering around the palace at night.

"Is that why you're here?" he asked.

Lupin nodded.

"Tian-Long should actually be quite safe, it's so remote, and almost as well-protected as Hogwarts,"   
he said, "but even so, I've come down whenever I could, to keep an eye on her."

Jeanne had now disappeared from sight. Lupin turned, and looked at Harry.

"Never mind that, Harry," he said, "there's something else I need to talk to you about. For the rest   
of your stay here, I want you to be very kind to Shan."

Harry looked at him in surprise again. "Why?"

Lupin was looking seriously at him.

"Harry," he said quietly, "Mrs Chen is Shan's mother."

Harry was dumbfounded. He wondered if he had heard rightly.

"Shan's mother?" he repeated. "But - Shan's parents are in Singapore!"

Lupin shook his head.

"Mrs Chen told Jeanne that when Shan was seven, she brought her to Singapore to be adopted,   
because she would have a better life there," he said.

Harry took a moment to digest this, and then a great anger flooded through him. How could Shan   
treat her mother like this? Harry would have given anything to have a mother still living, and here   
she was, refusing to visit her mother even when she was dying.

Lupin saw his expression, and looked sternly at him.

"Don't be so quick to judge her, Harry," he said. "A lot of things have happened that you don't   
know about. Mrs Chen admitted herself that she hasn't always treated Shan well. It's too late   
now, anyway, and she's gone. Shan needs someone to give her support now, and not reproof.   
You'll have to provide it, because none of the others knows about this, and it would be better   
for Shan if they didn't."

Harry bit his lip. "I suppose I'd better go look for her now."

Lupin nodded, and Harry took his leave of him and left the hut.

He began making his way back to the peach orchard, although he felt sure Shan wasn't there any   
more. He had no idea what to say to her. Should he just pretend he didn't know her secret?   
What had Mrs Chen done to her, to have alienated her so much?

He thought about the hooded figure again, and decided that it couldn't have been Deorg. Lupin   
had just said that Tian-Long was as well-protected as Hogwarts. Besides, if it had been Deorg,   
he would surely have tried harming Jeanne by now.

Harry had just reached the edge of the bamboo grove when he saw a small figure coming toward   
him : it was Robert.

"Have you seen Shan?" Robert sounded slightly out of breath. "She missed Western Magic - " Then   
he stopped, and looked at Harry's face.

"Something has happened," he said.

Harry looked at Robert. He felt sure Robert knew all about Shan.

"Mrs Chen is dead," he said.

Robert managed to look startled, even with his glasses on. He stood, looking at Harry for a moment,   
then turned and started off toward the lake in a hurry. Harry ran to catch up with him.

"That's bad," said Robert. "Shan wasn't there when she died, was she?"

Harry shook his head. "Jeanne sent her a message, but she refused to go."

They were scrambling down the steep steps that led down to the lake. Harry looked down, and saw   
Shan far below, sitting at the water's edge.

They reached the bottom, and hurried over to her. Although Harry was sure she could hear them   
coming, she continued staring out over the water till Robert was standing right next to her, then   
looked up at him.

"Are you all right?" asked Robert.

She looked away, out over the lake, then glanced at Harry.

"So, does the whole school know about it, as well?" she said, sounding rather bitter.

Robert hesitated, then sat down next to her, but she immediately got up.

"I'd rather be alone," she said, turning and walking off, "I don't want to talk, I don't want company,   
I don't want to see anyone."

Robert's lips tightened, and he started off after her.

"Stop it, Shan," he said firmly. "You're just running away. You can't - "

"Get away from me!" she suddenly shouted, turning around. "Especially you - I know, you know   
everything about me!"

"Shan," began Robert - but she was now transforming. In a twinkling, a large green dragon had   
taken her place. With an angry roar, it launched itself into the air, and flew off.

Robert stood there, watching as it disappeared, then made a small gesture of frustration with his   
hand. He turned and sat down, by the water's edge.

Harry stood there for a few moments, watching him uncertainly, then came over and sat down   
next to him.

Robert was staring out across the lake. After several seconds, ripples appeared on the surface   
of the water, and Sang Nila's large head appeared.

"It's all right," Robert said, as Harry got up in a hurry, "he won't hurt you while I'm here."

Sang Nila swam over and came up to Robert, and laid his tawny head at his feet.

Harry sat down again. Robert scratched Sang Nila's head a while, but Harry had a feeling his   
mind was elsewhere.

After several minutes of silence, Harry finally spoke.

"I don't understand," he said. "Why? Why didn't she want to see her mother?"

Robert continued stroking the Merlion's head a while longer, then turned and looked at Harry.   
Harry wished, for the umpteenth time, that Robert would get a normal pair of glasses.

Robert seemed to read his mind, and took his glasses off. He laid them in his lap and looked   
hesitantly at Harry, as if he wasn't sure where to start.

"Mrs Chen was very strict with Shan when she was a child," he began. "She never showed   
her any affection whatsoever. Shan felt that everything she did would somehow displease her."

But that isn't enough reason for her to treat her mother like that, thought Harry.

"Mrs Chen wasn't always fond of animals either, as she has been, lately," continued Robert.   
"She disliked all wildlife. In particular, she has always hated snakes, partly because she was   
afraid of them. If any happened to come near their home, she would kill them without any mercy."

Sang Nila shifted his head, and Robert absently stroked him.

"Shan likes snakes as much as dragons," said Robert, "because she can transform into one. She   
considers herself one of them. She spent her childhood watching her mother beating creatures   
whom she considered her friends to death. She wondered, if she transformed into a snake,   
whether her mother would kill her too."

"Didn't Mrs Chen know?" asked Harry, "that Shan could transform into a snake?"

Robert shook his head.

"You don't know what Mrs Chen was like in the past, Harry," he said. "She wasn't always the   
kind old lady you have seen. She never wanted to have children. She didn't want Shan when she   
was born. I know, because my mother was close to Mrs Chen, although they were only distant   
cousins. When Shan's father found out Shan could transform, he told her never to let her mother   
know. Mrs Chen's dislike of snakes was so great that he felt sure his wife would disown Shan if   
she found out she could turn into a snake."

"But - did she know that Shan could transform into a dragon?" asked Harry.

"No," said Robert. "Mrs Chen didn't like animals then, even dragons. Shan's father felt it would   
be better for Shan, if her mother didn't know."

He shifted his position, and leaned himself against Sang Nila's back, looking up at the sky.

"Shan was very close to her father," he said. "She loved him more than anyone else. He was the one   
who gave her that jade dragon pendant, the one she always wears. She was his 'little jade dragon'."

Harry was listening. He still felt that Shan was lucky, to at least have had a chance to have known   
her father, unlike himself.

Robert's expression became sober.

"The family was very poor, so when Shan was seven, Mrs Chen decided to bring her to Singapore   
to be adopted. She said Shan would have a better life there. But Shan didn't want to go. She felt   
her mother was trying to get rid of her, and she didn't want to leave her father.

"Mr Chen himself was against it; he didn't want to lose Shan. But one night when he happened to   
be away, Mrs Chen packed all their things, and dragged Shan, kicking and screaming, to the   
nearest Portkey. She had already pre-arranged everything. She brought Shan to Singapore, to   
my home, and I remember Shan refusing to eat anything for three days. She had to be force-fed.   
She was crying for her father, all the time.

"My parents would have liked to adopt Shan, but we were too poor. I was always ill, and we   
already couldn't afford the medical fees. So we asked my father's cousin and his wife to adopt   
her, which they did.

"Shan had a hard time adjusting to life there. She couldn't speak English, which she needed to   
attend school. My uncle and aunt didn't believe us when we told them she was a witch, because   
she never transformed in front of them, or showed any magical abilities whatsoever. They were  
Muggles themselves, and they sent her to a Muggle school. When they found out she really was  
a witch, they regretted adopting her. She felt, all the time, that no one wanted her."

Harry was beginning to feel sorry for Shan now.

"That wasn't the worst of it," said Robert, looking at Harry. "When Mrs Chen returned to China,   
she discovered that Mr Chen had gone mad from grief. He couldn't recognise his wife any more.   
He kept asking where Shan was. He would wander outdoors at night, calling for her. Mrs Chen   
wrote to my mother, telling us that her husband would wander up into the mountains at night,   
looking for his daughter. The people in the village below could hear his voice every night,   
echoing among the hills, calling her name."

Harry was silent. No wonder she had been so terrified that night, when they had heard Yang-Kang   
shouting.

"Finally, one night Mr Chen went out and never came back," said Robert. "There was a storm that   
night, and people think that he must have fallen into a ravine. For a long time, we didn't dare let Shan   
know what had happened. She was already upset because her father never wrote to her. My home   
was near hers, and she was always at my place because she hated staying with my aunt and uncle.   
She somehow came across her mother's letters one day, and discovered the truth."

Harry was feeling quite dreadful now. I shouldn't have asked her about her father, that time during   
Potions, he thought.

Robert gave a small sigh. He sat up, and looked out over the lake again.

"I found her sitting in a corner of my mother's bedroom, looking very pale, with the letters in her lap.   
She never said a word about it, or cried a single tear. She went home soon after that, and we later   
heard that she had fallen ill. She was ill for several weeks, and after she recovered she never did well   
in school. I tried to help her, because we were in the same class, but she failed everything."

Harry was still feeling bad.

"I'd never have guessed it," he said. "She always seems cheerful."

Robert nodded, then shrugged.

"It was a relief when the letters from Tian-Long arrived, and we came to China," he said. "Her   
schoolwork picked up, and she managed to make friends. But she never forgave her mother for   
what she did. She blamed her for everything, and she refused to go and see her, even though she   
knew her mother was staying in the school grounds."

Harry had never thought Robert capable of talking so much, and for such a long time.

"Mrs Chen, by then, regretted the way she'd treated Shan. She must have found out from my   
mother that Shan could transform, and she tried to mend her waysthat's why she started feeding   
the animals, to show Shan that she didn't mind them any more.

"But Shan couldn't forgive her mother, for a long time. It was only lately that she told me that she   
had decided to put the past behind her, and make it up with her mother. The day before our   
Internal Magic test, she told me she was going to speak to her mother soon. Things might just   
have worked out, if only Mrs Chen hadn't fallen into the river."

Harry looked at Robert, startled. Robert, seeing his expression, nodded.

"Shan felt she was a coward, that she should have been the one to transform and save her mother,   
instead of letting Chien-Mei do it. But she had always felt ashamed of her ability to transform, and   
she couldn't bring herself to let anyone know. After that she tried to visit her mother, but she found   
that Mrs Chen could now talk of no one except Chien-Mei. She thought Chien-Mei was wonderful,   
because she had saved her life. Shan felt Chien-Mei had taken her place, and that there was no   
room for her any more."

Harry was beginning to understand, now.

"I see," he said, slowly.

"Shan was very upset," said Robert. "She felt that fate was punishing her. She already blames   
herself for her father's death, because if he hadn't been so fond of her, he might not have gone   
mad. She felt that she had lost her mother now, as well. She felt that no matter what she did or   
how hard she tried, she would always fail. She hasn't wanted to face the fact that her mother   
was dying. She couldn't bear the thought of going to her mother's bedside, with Chien-Mei there,   
and hearing her talk about how wonderful Chien-Mei was."

Robert was silent for a moment, looking out over the lake, then sighed and got up. Sang Nila,   
who had fallen into a doze, stirred and looked up at him. He then turned and made his way   
back into the water, and disappeared beneath its surface with scarcely a ripple.

"We should go back," Robert said. "Our next class will be starting soon."

He waited till Harry had stood up, and they were making their way up the stone steps, before   
continuing.

"I know Shan doesn't want to face up to the fact that her mother's really gone. She's afraid   
of seeing her mother dead, and knowing that she's caused her mother nothing but trouble   
all her life, and that it's now too late to make up for any of it."

"Guess there's nothing I can do," said Harry, after a few moments.

Robert hesitated.

"You could give her some company," he said. "She won't be talking to me for a while now.   
She's got her pride, and I'm too close to her. She doesn't like to think anyone's pitying her,   
and sometimes she resents the fact that I know everything about her past."

"Me?" Harry was startled. "I don't even know what to say to her!"

Robert shrugged.

"No need to say anything," he said. "Just treat her as you usually do. She likes your company;   
she's already told you more about herself than she's told any of her other friends."

They had reached the top of the cliff.

"I've never seen her cry a tear, ever since that day she found her mother's letters," said Robert.   
"She keeps everything bottled up inside. If she could confide in someone else besides me, it   
would do her good."

He put his glasses on again, signalling the end of the conversation. They walked in silence,   
all the way back to the school.

-


	14. Yu-Lin's Revenge

Hi there, thanks for the reviews so far. Silimay, as you can see, you were quite right, Robert's   
character is going to develop more as the story goes. [Oh no, I have a reader trying to guess   
my plot! Well, please don't drop any spoilers. :o) ]

Yes, we'll get to Hogwarts soon. After this chapter, there's one more in Tian-Long and then   
that's the end of Part One. How come everyone thinks Shan and Harry will hook up? :o)   
I shall not divulge anything. But you'll see that things in this story, as in real life, won't always   
turn out straightforward ...

~ Kim (gryffindor1970@yahoo.com)

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------

  
**Chapter XIV**

**_Yu-Lin's Revenge_**

  
_An early cricket chirps, then pauses;  
The dying lamp gutters  
Outside my window it is raining  
The leaves of the willow  
First know its drumming_

_~ Bai Ju-Yu, Tang Dynasty   
  
_

**S**han was very quiet and subdued over the next few days. Robert was right; she didn't  
seem to want to talk to him; they sat at separate places in class, and would go their own  
ways after that. Ron and Hermione, of course, were wondering what had happened, but  
the others didn't seem surprised.

"It happens," said Fatty placidly. "When you spend so much time together, you're bound  
to have some disagreement. They'll patch up in a day or two, wait and see. I've seen it  
happen before."

Shan seemed depressed and rather lost, without Robert around. She was used to doing her  
homework with him, and asking him for help whenever she didn't understand something.  
Harry tried to keep her company as Robert had suggested, though he could hardly think of  
anything comforting to say. She didn't seem to mind him being around, anyway, and he would  
sometimes do his homework together with her, or accompany her to the Caverns, staying  
outside while she went in to talk to the dragons.

One day after Care of Magical Creatures, he stayed to wait for her, because she wanted to  
talk to Chen-Kang about something. Ron stayed back as well, since Pixie had gone off for  
one of her classes. To Harry's annoyance, Malfoy, instead of disappearing with Yu-Lin as he  
usually did, saw them and came over to bother them, an annoying smile on his pointed face.

"So Potty and the Weasel have both found girlfriends," he said softly, looking at them, his  
pale eyes narrowing. He glanced at Shan, in the distance. "But she's a plain Jane, isn't she,  
Potter - compared to the previous one."

Harry glared at him. "What are you talking about?"

Malfoy smirked.

"Your previous crush, Potter," he drawled, a sly gleam in his eyes, "remember - the one who  
turned you down for the Ball?" He flicked another glance at Shan. "She's a poor second, isn't  
she, Potter? But I suppose that's the best that you can do."

Harry was furious. How had Malfoy found out about Cho? Cho's friends must have seen Harry  
asking her to the Yule Ball, and blabbed about it to everyone.

"Shut up, Malfoy," said Ron, seeing that Harry was too angry to speak, "Speak for yourself - no  
one'd ever look at _you_. How much did you bribe Pug-nosed Parkinson, to get her to go with you?"

"She's better than that cheap little piece of trash that _you're_ with, Weasley," retorted Malfoy coolly.  
"Better send her for a check-up before you do anything serious with her, in case you catch something  
from her - I hear she's had countless other flings before."

Harry held Ron back, because Chen-Kang could see them, and Crabbe and Goyle were coming  
toward them together with Yu-Lin. Shan had also finished with Chen-Kang, and was coming over.  
Malfoy, aware that she could probably set the dragons on him if she wanted to, gave one last smirk  
and left.

"Is something wrong?" asked Shan, coming up to them.

Harry felt his face going red.

"It's nothing," he mumbled, finding himself unable to meet her eyes, "Just Malfoy being his usual  
nauseating self."

Ron was fuming, and his face was even redder than Harry's.

"_Piece of trash_, indeed," he spluttered, "That Parkinson - not that they're together, anyway - is always  
reading all those porn periodicals - " He saw Shan looking at him, startled, and broke off. He stomped  
off, muttering angrily to himself, leaving the other two to catch up with him.

Harry looked at Ron, rather worried, as they started to follow him.

"Was Malfoy talking about Xiao-Yan?" asked Shan, also watching Ron. She looked at Harry's face.  
"You're not worried about him, are you?"

"Well" Harry was reluctant to say it, "Pixie _does_ have a lot of admirers. And she plays up to them  
as well. They're always giving her flowers and gifts - Hermione says your dorm is full of them. I can't  
help wondering if she isn't just leading Ron on."

Shan looked thoughtfully at Ron's back.

"I don't think so, Harry," she said. "I've known Pixie longer than you. She can't help being a bit wild.  
She doesn't get much attention at home...her parents are very conservative, old-fashioned Chinese.  
Her four sisters were all matchmade with their husbands - all of them are married now. Pixie's a bit  
thoughtless and giddy and she likes the attention she gets, but she's not serious about it. She's never  
stayed with any of her past boyfriends for more than a week, but she's been hanging out with Ron  
for more than a month now. I think she really does like him."

They soon caught up with Ron, and walked on in silence for a while. As they passed the bamboo  
grove, Harry saw a small figure heading in the direction of the lake. It was Robert, obviously going  
to visit Sang Nila.

Shan had seen him as well. Harry, glancing at her face, could tell that she missed him.

"We don't have any classes now," he said casually, "why don't we go to the lake?"

Shan wasn't fooled. She glared at Harry for a moment, then looked at Robert's disappearing figure  
rather sadly, and shook her head.

"I think I'll go to the library," she said quietly, "I'll see all of you later." She turned and made her way  
toward the palace, without waiting for them.

Ron, who hadn't noticed that anything was wrong, watched Shan going off.

"Sohow are you and she getting along?" he asked.

Harry looked at him in surprise. Ron grinned at him.

"C'mon, Harry," he said, "you _do_ like her, don't you? I get the impression the two of you would get  
along fine, if only Robert wouldn't keep sticking next to her."

Harry felt rather irritated.

"There isn't anything," he said.

Ron looked disbelieving. "Don't tell me you don't like her, at least a bit."

Harry hesitated. To tell the truth, he wasn't sure how he felt about Shan. He liked her very much as  
a friend, of course. The fact that she sometimes made him think of Cho Chang confused him. Harry  
wasn't sure why she reminded him of Cho. After that initial odd feeling whenever he saw her, he  
would often look at her and decide that she didn't look like Cho, after all. Besides, he wasn't sure  
how Shan felt about him. Then, there was Robert, whom Harry couldn't help liking. Robert didn't  
seem to have any close friends; he and Shan were used to being together, and Harry didn't want  
to break them up in any way.

"There really isn't anything, Ron," he said. "Not like you and Pixie. How are the two of _you_ getting  
along, anyway?"

Ron went red, as he usually did whenever anyone brought Pixie's name up.

"I know you people think she's a bit of a flirt," he mumbled, looking at the ground, "but she's not  
always like that. When you talk to her one-to-one, she's quite different" He broke off, looking  
embarrassed. Harry grinned at him.

"C'mon, let's go back to the Pagoda," he said, deciding not pursue the matter any further.

Harry had noticed that Shan was not the only one feeling down. Hermione, too, had been  
looking moody. She had been spending a lot of her time in the library, reading whatever  
English books she could find there, and would snap at Harry whenever he asked her if  
anything was wrong.

That evening in the Green Dragon common room, Chee Chong, at Ron's request, brought  
his Chinese Chess set out, and began explaining about the different pieces. Harry was sitting  
to one side listening, while Hermione was some distance away, searching around in her bag  
for one of her books. She took some sheets of parchment out, and then gave an exclamation  
of dismay.

Harry looked at her. The sheets of parchment were almost completely black in colour, as if  
someone had dipped them in a bucket of ink.

He went over to have a look. "What happened?"

Hermione was staring at the parchment as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"This can't have happened," she said numbly. "Someone's done this to me. Someone's poured  
ink all over my essays."

Robert, who had been sitting in a corner reading, had also come over.

"Give them to me," he said, "I think I can fix them."

He took the assignments from her, and tapped them with his wand. The inkstains all turned a  
bright, translucent red. Under the red layer, Hermione's original neat writing was visible, in black.

Harry was fascinated. "What did you do?"

"Separated the new layer of ink from the old," said Robert. "The black letters have set into  
the parchment for a longer time." He began to rub the parchment with the tip of his wand,  
using it like an eraser, rubbing the red layer of ink off.

"It'll take a bit of time," he said to Hermione, "I'll give them back to you later."

Hermione nodded, still looking rather stunned. Robert went back to his corner, and continued  
erasing the ink stains. Hermione went and sat against the wall, looking glum. She took a book  
out of her bag, and began to read.

Harry, seeing that Hermione looked as if she didn't want to be disturbed, went back to Ron  
and Chee Chong, still wondering about the inkstains. First Chee Chong, then Fatty, and now  
Hermione. He wondered if Malfoy had anything to do with it. He and Yu-Lin were still giving  
them sly looks in class, and looking pleased with themselves.

At this moment, Jeanne came into the room, looking thoughtful. She spotted Robert in his  
corner, and went over to him.

"Robert, bring me your robes," she said quietly, "I'd like to mend them."

Robert obediently put the parchment down, and went off to his dormitory.

Jeanne came over and sat down next to Harry. Chee Chong was now explaining the rules  
of the game to Ron. The Chinese Chessboard looked rather similar to the English one, but  
all the pieces were flat and circular. Like the English chess pieces, they were also talking  
and giving instructions, but in polite, gentle voices, and in Chinese.

"So, we have two armies," Chee Chong was saying. "You must checkmate the King of the  
opposing army. This strip in the middle" - he pointed at a silver strip of metal that divided  
the board in two - "is a liver."

"Liv -? Oh, river, right," said Ron, with a straight face.

They started playing. Ron had difficulty recognising the pieces because they all looked  
similar, and could only be identified by a Chinese character etched on their tops. Finally,  
Chee Chong scribbled the names on pieces of parchment and stuck it to each piece.

"It's a pity you don't understand Chinese, Ron," said Jeanne, watching with interest, "the  
pieces are actually thinking their tactics through quite well. They're giving fairly good advice."

"That's easily solved," said Harry. He took the Translator out of his pocket, and handed it  
to Ron.

Robert had come back with his shabby robes. Jeanne took her wand out, and began to  
mend them. Harry turned to look at Hermione, who was still staring glumly at her book.  
He felt sure she wasn't really reading.

He went over to her. "How's everything?"

She didn't look up. "Fine."

Harry was silent for a moment.

"You're looking a bit down, Hermione," he said quietly, so that the others wouldn't hear.  
"Anything wrong?"

Hermione suddenly lowered her book, and glared at him.

"I'm fine," she snapped. "Just fine. Leave me alone, will you?"

She threw her book down, and stormed out of the room, tears in her eyes.

Harry sat where he was, staring after her. Ron and Chee Chong were still absorbed in their  
game, but Jeanne and Robert had heard, and came over.

"What happened?" Jeanne looked rather anxious.

"Dunno," said Harry, still feeling surprised. "I just asked her if everything was OK, that's  
all. She's been looking gloomy lately."

Robert glanced at Hermione's bag. Four library books were sticking out of it.

"She's homesick, Harry," he said. "Ron's been busy with Pixie, and you've made pretty  
good friends with Shan. But Hermione's not really close to any of us. She's been by herself,  
in the library, most of the time."

Harry felt bad. He hadn't meant to neglect Hermione, just that so many things had been  
happening that he hadn't noticed her feeling left out.

Jeanne got up.

"I'll go have a talk with her," she said, and left the room.

Robert went back to his corner, and continued cleaning Hermione's essays. After about half  
an hour, Hermione came back in. There was a rather odd look on her face. She picked her  
bag up, went over to Robert, and sat down next to him.

Harry watched her, feeling rather nonplussed. Hermione didn't look upset any more. He  
wondered what Jeanne had said to her. Perhaps, to distract her, she'd asked Hermione to  
keep Robert company, until he and Shan patched up.

Robert looked rather surprised (even with his glasses on) but he gave Hermione a small smile,  
then went back to cleaning the parchment. Hermione quietly read her library book for a few  
minutes, then tried to start a conversation. As far as Harry could tell, they were talking about  
books. Robert took his usual collection of books out of his bag, and Hermione began examining  
them.

After a while, Shan came in. She looked surprised to see Hermione sitting with Robert, but  
came over to Harry and sat down next to him, pretending to watch the chess game. She  
occasionally glanced at Robert, though, and Harry knew she was missing him badly. He felt  
rather impatient with Hermione. Shan looked as if she was finally ready to patch up with Robert;  
why on earth must Hermione start trying to make friends with him now?

Shan watched the game for a while, then got up with a small sigh.

"I'm a bit tired," she said, to no one in particular. "I think I'll go to bed." And she left the room,  
pointedly not looking at the corner where Robert was sitting.

Fortunately, things sorted themselves out the next day, before their Divination class.

Harry and Shan found Yu-Lin and the Slytherins already in the classroom when they got there.  
Harry noticed that Crabbe and Goyle, over the last few weeks, had become enormously fat.  
They had been having a field day with all the good food at Tian-Long, and must have been  
working their house-elf to the bone. They could often be seen choffing away on various sweet  
things in between meals, like the moon-cakes, and wintermelon sweets. They looked almost as  
bad as Dudley - as wide as they were tall, which was ten times worse because they were a lot  
taller than Dudley. Harry wondered what Snape would say when he saw them, back at Hogwarts.

Robert was also there, sitting alone near the back. He had been taking his meals in the Hall of  
Dragons, because he knew the others would feel uncomfortable if both he and Shan were at the  
table together, and not speaking to each other. Shan hesitated when she saw him there, and  
Harry knew she wanted to patch up with him.

Unsure what to do, she stalled for time by plonking her bag down on a side table, and pretending  
to take her Divination homework out. She pulled out several sheets of parchment, then gave an  
exclamation of dismay.

Harry, suspecting what had happened, went over to her. Sure enough, the homework was all  
covered with black ink.

"What happened," moaned Shan. "I spent ages on this stupid thing. And I hate Divination. Now  
I've got to do it all over again, and she'll give me demerits for handing it in late."

Robert had overheard, and had come over.

"I'll fix it," he said quietly.

Shan looked at him, then handed him the parchment. Robert took it, went back to his seat, and  
started working on it.

Shan picked up her bag and looked at him, hesitating. Harry dumped his own bag on the seat  
next to him, so that she couldn't sit there, and pretended he was absorbed in his _Book of Changes_.  
Shan stood there for a moment or two, then went over and sat down next to Robert.

Robert gave her his usual quiet smile, then bent over the ink-stained parchment again. Shan watched  
him for a while, then stared at the top of the desk in front of her, and said in a small voice, "Sorry  
I've been an idiot."

Robert was still looking at the parchment, but he smiled again.

"It's OK," he said placidly. And after that, everything was just as it had been, before.

Malfoy had been watching Robert cleaning the parchment, and was now smiling in delight.

"People've been pretty careless in this class lately, haven't they, Potter," he said softly, so that Robert  
wouldn't hear. "Lucky for you that you've escaped, so far."

Harry glared at him. "What do you mean?"

Malfoy smiled maliciously, but at this moment, Ron, Pixie and all the others came in, together with  
Madam Tang.

Ron slid into the seat next to Harry, looking agitated.

"Look at this," he whispered, opening his bag. The entire interior of the bag was swimming in black  
ink, and Ron's Divination homework had been completely destroyed.

"Malfoy did it," Harry muttered. "Don't know how, but he more or less hinted it, just now."

"Good thing I only had my Divination homework in there," Ron said in an undertone, so that Madam  
Tang, who had gone to a corner of the room to replenish her joss-sticks, wouldn't hear, "but the old  
cockroach is going to explode. She hates anyone handing in late work."

"Don't worry, Ronniekins," whispered Pixie from behind, "Leave it to _me_." She held out a roll of  
parchment. "Here, take this, and just read what's on it when she calls you."

Ron took the parchment she handed to him, and unrolled it.

"It's blank," he whispered back at Pixie.

"Not for long," she said, "Watch."

She began writing on another blank piece of parchment in front of her. Words began appearing  
on Ron's piece of parchment, as well.

Ron goggled at it, then turned around again.

"_That wasn't the question I chose_," he hissed.

Pixie dimpled at him.

"No, Ronniekins," she said tenderly, "_I've_ chosen it."

Harry looked at the parchment. The first line went : "Question: Should I one day get married?"

Ron was looking at it with an agonized expression. He turned around and hissed, "_Choose another  
question_! I _refuse_ to read this in front of Malfoy!"

Pixie, however, merely giggled, and continued writing. Madam Tang cleared her throat, indicating  
the class was about to start. Unfortunately for Ron, she saw him turning around and whispering to  
Pixie, and singling him out first, asked him to read out his homework.

Pixie hadn't finished writing yet; she was flipping through her Book of Changes, looking for something.  
Ron, going red, said, "I haven't finished it yet."

Madam Tang, peering short-sightedly at him from where she was standing, said severely, "I see  
parchment in front of you, with words on it. It is clear, then, that you have done your homework.  
Read it out, Mr Weasley!"

Ron groaned under his breath. Pixie, behind him, was now writing as fast as she could. He stood up,  
face still red, and mumbled the first line.

"Question: Should I one day get married?"

Chee Chong, with Chester perched gloomily on top of his head, looked startled that Ron would have  
chosen such a question, as did Fatty and the others. Yu-Lin gave a sarcastic smile, while Malfoy  
sniggered, and Crabbe and Goyle gave stupid guffaws.

Madam Tang frowned at them, then curtly nodded at Ron to continue.

Ron, anxious to get it over with, began to rattle off the rest.

"I came up with Hexagram number thirty-one : _Influence_ (_Wooing_)" - he choked a bit on this -  
" '_Influence. Success. Perseverance furthers. To take a maiden to wife brings good fortune_.' "

He stopped, because Pixie hadn't finished writing the next line yet. He looked at Madam Tang,  
and saw that she was still looking expectantly at him.

"Continue, Mr Weasley!" she said, sharply.

Ron glanced at his parchment, and saw to his relief that Pixie had finished the next few lines.  
He took a breath, and without reading through them first, rattled them off.

" 'The Image : '_the superior man encourages people to approach him, by his readiness to  
receive them_.' Interpretation : _Marriage is favourable_. This-means-Pixie-and-I-are-meant-to-be  
-together-and-we-will-one-day-get-mar-" He suddenly realised what he was reading, and broke  
off in horror. Pixie, behind him, went into a fit of giggles.

Madam Tang frowned fiercely, and shuffled forward. She snatched Ron's parchment out of his hand,  
and looked at it. Then she went to Pixie, and took her piece of parchment away as well.

"So," she said in her hoarse voice, "twin parchments."

She glared angrily at Ron, who was still red in the face, then turned to look at Pixie, who was well  
known for not being serious in class. "Your idea of a joke, Xiao-Yan, I presume." She paused,  
and then frowning even more fiercely, said, "And where is _your_ homework?"

Pixie, who was famous for never handing anything in on time, said with a martyred expression on  
her face, "I meant to do it yesterday, but something came up -"

"Enough!" snapped Madam Tang. "You will do it now, in front of us. Choose a question!"

She took some bronze coins out of her pocket, and handed them to Pixie.

Pixie seemed quite unabashed. She thought for a while, then said demurely, "My question is : _will  
I ever find a man that I cannot conquer_?" She then giggled idiotically.

Madam Tang's eyes narrowed. She made an impatient movement with her hand, indicating Pixie  
should toss the coins.

Pixie did so. She came up with Hexagram number four : Youthful Folly.

"Ha!" croaked Madam Tang, her eyes gleaming. "Let us see the meaning of this!"

She picked up her _Book of Changes_, flipped to the correct page, and began reading triumphantly,  
" 'The Judgement : _It is not I who seek the young fool_; _the young fool seeks me_. _If he asks two  
or three times, it is importunity. If he importunes, I give him no information_.' "

Madam Tang's eyes narrowed again, and she glared at Pixie, her eyes glinting.

"Brazen girl," she hissed, "You will get what you deserve. Here is what fate foretells : A man will  
conquer you. He will have dominion over you, and much as you want to flee, you cannot. You  
will do as he tells you to."

Pixie stood there, an innocent expression on her face. She flicked a glance at Ron, and Madam  
Tang's description contrasted so ludicrously with him that she couldn't control herself, and broke  
into giggles again.

Madam Tang seemed incensed.

"Ten demerits for late work!" she snapped. "And five demerits for being bold! You and Ronald  
will stay back here after class, and do twice the homework! I want it handed in by the end of  
the next period!"

She was in a very bad mood after that, and the class was glad when the lesson was over.

Shan and Robert had to leave for their next class, but the others were free for that period, so  
they stayed back to keep Pixie and Ron company while they finished their Divination homework.

"It's a good thing the demerits here only go to the individual," said Fatty, taking a small abacus  
out of his lacquer box, and absently sliding the beads on it to and fro. "And not to the entire  
House, as in Hogwarts, or Xiao-Yan would be a real liability to Crimson Phoenix. She probably  
incurs more demerits in this school than anyone else."

"She makes it up by gaining melits," said Chee Chong, looking around for Chester, who had  
disappeared. "The Herborogy Master has a clush on her. He spends most of his time in crass  
giving her melits when she smiles at him."

Pixie, obviously thinking this was a compliment, dimpled at him.

Crabbe and Goyle had disappeared, probably in search of more food, but Malfoy and Yu-Lin,  
seeing that Robert wasn't around, had stayed back.

"Your bag looks even shabbier than usual, Weasley," said Malfoy, watching in delight as Ron  
tried to remove the ink from his bag with an evaporating spell. "Perhaps you should buy a new  
one - oh, I _forgot_, you probably wouldn't be able to _afford_ it."

"Drink ink, Malfoy," snapped Ron. He pointed his wand at Malfoy, and a jet of ink shot out  
of it, staining Malfoy's pale hair black.

Malfoy stood up and snatched his own wand out, but Chee Chong hurriedly said, "Lady Han-Yin  
is coming!"

Malfoy sat down again, as Lady Han-Yin went past the classroom. She looked in and saw them  
there, and smiled at them, then continued on her way.

Yu-Lin looked disdainfully at Chee Chong.

"So, our goody-two-shoes little country bumpkin has saved the day," she sneered.

Chee Chong went red, but said nothing.

"Keep quiet, Yu-Lin," said Fatty, "Chong leads a far more useful life working on his parents' farm,  
during the holidays, than some good-for-nothing persons who only know how to sit around in their  
father's house, giving other people orders."

Yu-Lin looked at Fatty with a curious gleam in her eyes.

"Speaking of fathers, Wing-Fatt," she said softly and sweetly, "I just received a most interesting  
letter from mine, before the class started. There was some information in it regarding _your_ father."

She took a letter out, and tossed it at Fatty.

Fatty scowled, and picked the letter up. He looked rather pale after reading it.

"This is some fabricated story," he snapped, throwing the letter back at Yu-Lin. "Which can easily  
be disproved by a call home."

He started taking his crystal globe out. Pixie, however, had seen something. She tugged at Ron's  
sleeve, and giggling, nodded at Yu-Lin.

Harry, Ron and Hermione turned to look. Chester had been crawling up Yu-Lin's back all the  
while. He had now reached her neck, and was disappearing inside her collar.

"_We've got to stop him_," hissed Hermione, but it was too late. Yu-Lin, feeling something crawling  
down her back, jumped up and started screaming, probably thinking it was a spider. The long-suffering  
Phoenix on her shoulder gave a startled squawk, and spread its wings to keep its balance. Still screaming,  
Yu-Lin began hitting at her back, and pushed her hand down the back of her collar, writhing in horror.

Malfoy looked up at her, startled. Fatty and Chee Chong looked surprised, while Pixie, Ron and Harry  
were in stitches.

Yu-Lin managed to get hold of Chester, and pulled him out and flung him on the floor. Then, her face  
white and angry, she pulled out her wand, and before anyone could stop her, pointed it at Chester.  
A jet of light shot out and hit Chester, and he burst into flames.

"No!" shouted Chee Chong, jumping forward. But it was too late; Chester was now nothing but a  
small pile of ashes.

Pixie and Fatty jumped up, and started shouting at Yu-Lin in Chinese. Ron and Hermione were  
watching in confusion. Only Harry, who had the Translator on, could understand what was happening.

Fatty jabbed at his abacus with his wand, and the beads all came off their wires and changed into a  
swarm of bees. They flew at Yu-Lin, buzzing angrily.

Yu-Lin screamed, and raised her arms to protect her face. Malfoy took his wand out, pointed it  
at the bees, and muttered something. The bees changed back into beads and dropped to the floor,  
bouncing around in all directions.

Pixie, still yelling, also pulled her wand out and pointed it at Yu-Lin. A bolt of light shot out of it.  
Yu-Lin dodged, but the bolt of light sliced through the gold cord binding the Phoenix to her. The  
Phoenix gave a call of triumph, and launched itself into the air. It flew swiftly once around the  
room, its feathers shimmering in the morning sunlight, then darted out the door, and was gone.

Yu-Lin gave a cry of dismay, her face pale as she watched the Phoenix disappear.

"You little slut!" she screamed at Pixie. "Look what you've done!"

"Don't you call me a slut!" screeched Pixie. "How dare you! When your own mother is a whore!"

This was too much for Yu-Lin. She took her wand, pointed it at Pixie, and snapped out a command.

There was a flash of light, and then Pixie's arms were gone : two feathery wings had taken their place.  
Pixie looked at them in horror for a moment, then continued screaming at Yu-Lin, flapping her wings  
angrily. Fatty had now conjured up some balls of light, and was throwing them at Yu-Lin.

A deafening explosion at the door suddenly made all of them jump. Lady Han-Yin was standing  
there, smoking wand in hand, her face furious, her eyes flashing dangerously. Fatty hurriedly  
dissolved his balls of light. Pixie stopped screeching, and lowered her wings. Yu-Lin was looking  
at Lady Han-Yin, her face ashen. Only Chee Chong was still kneeling next to what was left of  
Chester, his head in his hands.

Lady Han-Yin pointed her wand at Pixie, and her wings transformed back into arms again. She  
then picked up her crystal ball, and looked at the shimmering lights within it.

"I see," she said coldly. She pointed a finger at Yu-Lin's letter, which was lying on the floor, and  
it flew into the air and over to her hand.

"The three of you will follow me," she snapped. Fatty, not daring to use magic to reassemble his  
abacus, went and collected the beads by hand. He, Pixie and Yu-Lin gathered up their things,  
and went to the door in silence. Yu-Lin was trembling slightly, looking at the letter in Lady  
Han-Yin's hand.

Lady Han-Yin was about to leave, when the crystal ball started shimmering again. She touched  
it with her fingertips, then turned and looked at Malfoy.

"My crystal tells me something most interesting, Mr Malfoy," she said quietly, coming over to  
him. She gestured with one hand, and a jar came flying out of Malfoy's bag and into her hand.  
Inside were several small, black, squirming blobs.

Lady Han-Yin fixed Malfoy with a stern eye.

"This cannot be obtained anywhere except at the Black Magic shops in the Forbidden area of the  
City," she said. "And I recall _expressly _telling you that no one is allowed to go there."

Her crystal shimmered again, and Lady Han-Yin consulted it briefly.

"Quite a number of victims in this class, I see," she said. She glanced at the letter in her hand. "And  
your father's name is mentioned here, too." She looked at Malfoy, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"You, too, will come with me, Mr Malfoy," she said. "Professor Dumbledore will be most  
interested to know of today's happenings."

Malfoy shot a resentful look at her, but gathered up his things and did as she said.

Lady Han-Yin led them from the room. Harry and the others waited till they had disappeared  
out the door, then went over to Chee Chong.

"Don't feel bad, Chee Chong," said Hermione, looking at him worriedly, "Chester's gone to a  
better place now. You can get another cricket."

Chee Chong's face was rather red, and he looked close to tears.

"I do not want another clicket," he said, his voice shaking slightly. With trembling hands, he  
conjured up a tiny little urn, and swept Chester's ashes into it.

"I would like to be alone for a while," he said, looking extremely upset. He picked his bag  
up and left the room, still clutching the urn.

Ron turned to Harry.

"What happened?" he said. "I didn't understand half of what was going on."

Harry told them.

"Wonder what those blobs in the jar were," he added, at the end of it.

"And what happened to Fatty's father," Ron said.

"Yu-Lin is in big trouble," said Hermione, looking thoughtful. "I've read the school rules in the  
English translation of _A Brief History of Tian-Long Academy_you can be expelled if you're  
caught trying to transfigure another student in a fight."

Still feeling sorry for Chester and Chee Chong, they gathered their bags and headed back to  
the Green Dragon common room to wait for Shan. This would be their last week at Tian-Long,  
and they had obtained permission to make one last trip down to the Celestial City that day.

After about half an hour, Shan and Robert came in. They looked concerned when the others  
told them what had happened.

"I hope Fatty is all right," said Shan anxiously, "I felt sure after the spider incident that Yu-Lin  
would try to get her own back on us. I've heard that she's like that - she's her father's favourite,  
and she often gets him to help her in her petty affairs. She hasn't got the guts to face up to  
Robert, so she must have tried to do something to Fatty instead."

They headed for the Caverns. On the way, they noticed quite a number of postal dragons  
flying past, coming in and out of the school.

"Is something happening?" asked Hermione, looking curiously at the dragons.

Shan looked thoughtful.

"I'm not sure," she said. "Lady Wen-Li has been receiving a lot of mail lately. From what I've  
heard, the various Pugilistic Sects want to visit the school earlier this year, and stay around for  
a longer time to select students who intend to join one of the Internal Magic schools when they  
graduate. Lady Wen-Li has refused them entry so far, saying it isn't necessary, but even so  
some of the Sect members have already come down, and are staying down in the City."

They soon reached the Caverns. Shan saddled WindStar, and they mounted her. Harry was  
so used to dragons by now that he had lost the initial wary feeling he'd had in the beginning  
whenever he saw any of them. Of course, most of the dragons he'd encountered were tame,  
or if they had been wild, Shan had been around to control them. He wondered what the  
dragons in Romania were like, remembering the burns and calluses he'd seen on Charlie  
Weasley's arms.

WindStar extended her large, batlike wings. Harry felt the familiar thrust of her powerful  
muscles, and then they were airborne, rising rapidly up into a clear, blue, cloudless sky.

- 


	15. Final Week

Note from Kim : Ginny Weasley, about the jade dragon, here's a hint : Shan's father   
used to call her "Little Jade Dragon".

Thanks for the reviews. I've reviewed a few people's fics, so if your review alert isn't on,   
pls check your account. Silimay, I did take a look at your fics, but there was no time to   
read them that day ... and then the next day I saw that you had revamped them!   
I'll review them when I have the time. :o)

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------

  
**Chapter XV**

**_Final Week_**

  
_That is my home of love; if I have ranged,  
Like him that travels, I return again_

_~ W. Shakespeare   
  
_

**S**han was right; there were all manner of strange people in the City. There were tall  
wizards, their heads shaven except for a long pigtail at the back, armed with long willow  
staffs. There were witches in white robes, with deadly-looking daggers in their belts, each  
with a jade amulet at her throat. There were also many men in colourful silk robes, with  
tigers and cranes and dragons embroidered on them, and a square of cloth in front of their  
robes, signifying rank. These, Shan said, looked like officials from the Imperial Court.

"It's really odd," said Shan, looking around as they made their way out of the square where  
the dragons were tethered. "I've never seen a crowd like this in Long-Shan before, it's usually  
quite an isolated place. And I haven't even seen some of these Sects before - they're not the  
ones who usually come to Tian-Long to conduct trials. I can't imagine why the Court officials  
are here, either. I'd heard some were here, and have been trying to visit the school, but for  
some reason Lady Wen-Li won't let them in. They've been leaving a large pile of gifts outside  
the school gates for her, every day."

"Maybe it's her birthday," said Ron, looking with interest as a group of wizards in brown robes  
went past.

Shan laughed, but Hermione dismissed his suggestion with a scornful look.

"It's strange, seeing so many Pugilists here," Shan repeated. "It's as if there's going to be some  
meeting of the clans here, or something."

Ron and Harry looked interested.

"Maybe there'll be a Duelling Tournament," said Ron hopefully. "Fatty's mentioned that all the  
Pugilists sometimes meet, to see which Sect has the most skilled fighters. That would be  
something to watch, huh, Harry?"

Robert had seen someone.

"Look, Shan," he said quietly, "Master Wei."

They all turned to look. A wizard in black robes was striding up to them, smiling. The long sabre  
at his side was sheathed in black and silver, and a silver kylin hung round his neck.

Shan and Robert greeted him, and they started conversing in Chinese. Harry fumbled around in  
his pocket for the Translator, while Ron and Hermione watched with interest.

Before Harry could bring the Translator out, the wizard had taken a few steps back and unsheathed  
his sword. The others watched, startled, as he hurled it straight at Robert.

Robert didn't bother to take his wand out. He made a small gesture with his hand, and the sword  
suddenly slowed down, swung around, and went flying back toward the wizard.

Master Wei caught the sword deftly, and transformed it back to a wand. He waved it, and small,  
bright bolts of light began shooting from it at Robert, so fast that they could hardly be followed  
with the eye. Robert, however, didn't move. He calmly stood there, looking at the bolts of light,  
and they fizzled out and faded away when they were just inches from him.

Master Wei smiled, and transformed his wand back to sword form. Sliding it back into its sheath,  
he came forward and ruffled Robert's hair, and said something to him. He then smiled and nodded  
at the others, and took his leave of them.

Harry had been watching, transfixed, the Translator lying forgotten in his pocket. Ron's eyes were  
popping out of his head.

"What was all that about?" he asked.

Shan gave a small sigh, as they continued making their way into the City.

"He has been pestering Robert about joining Shao-Lin Academy for ages," she said. "He says he  
should go there after graduating from Tian-Long, and that he expects to see him there next autumn."

"Shao-Lin Academy?" said Hermione. "I read about it in _A Survey of the Pugilistic Arts in China_.  
That's one of the oldest and most well-known Duelling schools."

Shan nodded, not looking too happy.

"Robert ought to go, then," said Harry, wondering at her expression. "I should think he wouldn't  
have any trouble getting in."

Robert was walking next to Shan, almost hidden from view.

"Probably not," he said, sounding noncommital. "I'm too small to be a Pugilist."

"What?" said Ron, "We just saw - "

"What is Master Wei doing back here, Shan?" said Hermione, interrupting, "He used to teach at  
Tian-Long, didn't he?"

Shan nodded, pushing her glasses up her nose, and looking rather puzzled.

"He taught us Protection Against the Black Way," she said. "I asked him why he was in the City,  
but he was tight-lipped about it. He just smiled and said he had some personal business here."

The Pugilists and the Court Officials were not the only ones around. There were also a fair number  
of people who looked like they were from the Press. Harry's heart sank when he saw them; although  
they must have come to the City for another purpose, he felt sure Ron and Hermione were not going  
to go unnoticed. It was easier for Harry, with his black hair, to blend into the crowd here, but Hermione's  
hair was brown and bushy, and Ron's red hair was very obvious, especially as their heads were bare;  
they had stopped wearing their hats when they had come to China, because hats were not part of the  
Tian-Long uniform.

He was right. He had the Translator on now, and before long, heard a voice saying from behind,  
"Look, there are some foreigners here as well. We can try interviewing them too."

Harry started walking faster.

"The press are coming after us," he muttered to Ron and Hermione. "Get Shan and Robert, and  
let's get out of here."

They wriggled their way through the crowd and extricated Shan and Robert from a shop where  
they had been buying moon-cakes, but not before someone shouted,

"Look! Isn't it Harry Potter?"

"Better run," said Robert, looking back. "There's quite a crowd of them gathering."

He disappeared swiftly down one of the narrow alleys, the rest following. They could hear sounds  
of pursuit behind, and several camera flashes going off.

"You go ahead," said Robert, stopping suddenly. The rest dashed past, but Harry, running behind  
Ron, turned back to look. Robert had conjured up a large, thick spider web across the alley. The  
reporters in front of the pack, hot on their heels, ran straight in and became thoroughly entangled in it.

Gasping for breath and laughing at the same time, Harry and the others ran on through the maze of  
alleys. Robert conjured up an illusion of fire next, then turned and followed them, leaving a trail of  
obstacles in his wake, including a grand piano and a large purple gorilla.

The fire stopped the reporters for a while, till they realised it wasn't producing any smoke. Taking  
out their wands, they ran through the imaginary fire and continued the chase, obliterating the obstacles  
with spells of their own.

Robert was now resorting to conjuring banana peels and puddles of oil. Finally, they reached the  
square. Shan quickly untethered WindStar, while the rest mounted her. The press, in the meantime,  
had formed a solid wall around them, and were firing questions at Harry in Chinese.

"Mr Potter, a few words with you."

"Mr Potter, have you learned to speak Chinese?"

"Mr Potter, what are you doing in Long-Shan?"

"Are you attending Tian-Long Academy? Is that why Tian-Long students are with you?"

"Are you here for the same reason as the great Pugilistic Sects? Can you tell us why they are here?  
What is the great secret?"

"Even the Emperor has sent his envoys to the Celestial City. Mr Potter, have you plans to visit the  
Imperial Court?"

"He doesn't understand Chinese," shouted Shan, waving her sword threateningly at them, and  
mounting WindStar.

A strapping reporter with a face like a bulldog pushed his way to the front.

"No problem at all," he said in English, in a sing-song voice like Fatty's, "I'm from the _South China  
Wizard's Post_. Mr Potter, a few questions, please."

WindStar, annoyed by the camera flashes, gave a snort and raised her head, glaring at them. She  
unfurled her batlike wings, and the crowd of reporters fell back slightly. Shan took hold of the reins,  
and WindStar promptly launched herself into the air, leaving the horde of reporters and cameramen  
still shouting and gesticulating at them. A few more camera flashes went off as they rose up in the  
air and headed back toward the school.

"Barking," said Ron, shaking his head, and looking back at them.

"Looks like even the press don't know why the Sects are assembling here," said Shan, looking  
intrigued, as the school and its grounds came into sight. "It's really curious. They can't just be here  
to select those students who are graduating - there aren't that many such students, not so that it  
would take several months to set trials for, anyway."

Fatty and Chee Chong didn't turn up for dinner. Pixie, however, appeared just as Ting-Ting was  
taking their orders.

"Fatt's father's business has failed very badly," she said, in answer to all their queries. "Yu-Lin  
and Draco Malfoy's fathers must somehow have managed to bring it about, but how we don't know.  
The family is almost bankrupt. Chong's parents' farm has also been destroyed by a freak storm.  
Yu-Lin's father must have got someone to magic it up, of course, but there's no proof either."

She sat down on a chair, looking dejected, and most unlike her usual gay self.

"I guess Taiwan and Singapore are too far away for Yu-Lin's father to have done anything to the  
rest of us," said Shan, looking at Pixie, and then at Robert.

"What - what happened to Chester's ashes?" asked Hermione delicately.

"Chong scattered them in the river," said Pixie, with a sigh. "He and Fatt have sneaked down to  
the City to get drunk. Lady Wen-Li let Fatt off lightly - she just gave him ten demerits. She gave  
me detention, thoughI spent the whole afternoon at the Caverns, cleaning the yard there of  
dragon dung."

She looked mournful as she said this, but then remembered something else, and her face  
brightened slightly.

"Yu-Lin has been suspended from school," she said with gloomy satisfaction. "She deserved  
to be expelled, only her father is too influential. She left the office weeping copiously. Your  
Draco Malfoy has also been suspended from the exchange programme, he should be  
returning to Hogwarts tomorrow. He's the one who's been flooding our bags with ink. He  
managed to destroy the letter from Yu-Lin's father - Lady Wen-Li left it on her desk for  
just a minute, and he burnt it to ashes, said his wand 'slipped by mistake'. Now there's no  
proof left, and even if there was, it's unlikely Yu-Lin's father would be taken in - he has  
cronies in the Chinese Magical Administration they're all a corrupt lot."

Harry knew he should feel pleased Malfoy was being punished, but he felt too sorry for  
Fatty and Chee Chong to rejoice much. He knew how obsessed with money Fatty was,  
and besides, Fatty had seemed convinced that Harry was going to bring him good luck.  
Although he knew Madam Tang's prediction had been a load of rubbish, Harry couldn't  
help feeling slightly guilty, as if he hadn't done his duty.

"What was in that jar that Lady Han-Yin pulled out of Malfoy's bag?" asked Hermione.

Pixie shuddered.

"Those were ink-slugs," she said, looking revolted. "They're attracted to parchment, and  
they secrete ink from their bodies, after which they completely dissolve and disappear.  
Draco Malfoy must have got them from one of the Black Magic trick shops in the City -  
that's in a seedy area, where all the brothels and opium dens arewe're forbidden to go  
there. He's been getting his owl to bring them to our dorms at night, and dropping them  
in through the window when everyone's asleep."

Dinner proceeded quietly after that; everyone seemed to be feeling subdued. Harry felt  
rather glum; their stay at Tian-Long had been fairly pleasant so far, and it seemed a pity  
that the exchange programme should end like this.

"Are we still going to the lake?" Shan asked, after a while. Pixie had suggested, some  
time ago, that they buy some moon-cakes and walk down to the lake, as the Tian-Long  
students always did during the Mid-Autumn Festival which had already taken place in  
September, and they had planned to do it that night.

"But Fatty and Chee Chong aren't here," objected Hermione.

"It's full moon tonight, though," said Pixie, looking sentimentally at Ron. "I asked Lady  
Wen-Li, and for your sakes she said we could go, though she told me I didn't deserve to.  
She doubled the length of my detention, to make up for it."

"We might as well go," said Shan. "Fatt and Chong will be feeling down the entire week;  
I doubt if they'd go anyway. And the Mid-Autumn Festival is always celebrated when the  
moon is full."

So, armed with the moon-cakes they had bought that afternoon, they started to make their  
way down to the lake. Pixie had also brought a collection of pretty little lanterns along, which  
she had made herself. These were very colourful, and came in the shape of various animals.

"Pixie made those," said Shan to Hermione and Harry, as Robert lit the lanterns with his  
thumb, and Pixie tapped them with her wand, so that they floated up and hung in mid-air.  
"Her father is a folk craftsman, carving ivory and jade and all that sort of thing."

The lanterns were floating in the air in front of them, bobbing up and down, as they walked  
through the grounds. After a while the Moon-Gate came into sight, in the distance. They  
saw that the doors were open, and a large group of people was entering the grounds.

The students stopped in surprise, and looked at them.

"Those are the Emperor's envoys," said Shan, watching the procession of wizards in their  
embroidered silk robes. "It looks as if Lady Wen-Li has finally allowed them to come into  
the school."

Some of the press appeared to be trying to get in as well, but to Harry's satisfaction, he  
saw the brown watch dragon driving them off with a jet of flame, just before the doors  
of the Moon-Gate swung shut.

They proceeded on their way. At the lake, they got into one of the Chinese junks moored  
there. Robert seated himself in front, and tapped the bow with his wand; the junk started  
to move out into the middle of the lake, the lanterns still bobbing up and down in front of  
them.

"Ooo, this is nice and romantic," breathed Pixie, sitting close to Ron, and looking up at the  
moon in satisfaction. "The Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for romance, you know."

"Yes, but this isn't the real Mid-Autumn Festival," Hermione began tartly. She was cut  
short by a loud squeal from Pixie, who had been trailing her hand over the side of the junk.  
Something large had emerged from the water, and there was a snapping of jaws before  
the creature vanished under the surface again.

Pixie had snatched her hand back, still intact, and retreated some distance from the side  
of the junk. Robert peered over the side, then whistled. After a few moments, Sang Nila's  
large head appeared out of the water.

"That Merlion's got it in for me!" said Pixie shrilly, looking accusingly at Robert. "This is  
the second time he's almost taken my hand off!"

"He's only playing with you," said Robert placidly, before turning and facing the front again.

Pixie contented herself with another glare at Sang Nila, then sat down next to Ron again,  
keeping herself well away from the water. Hermione said nothing, but looked at the Merlion  
with approval.

Robert guided the junk toward the end of the lake where the peach orchard was, because  
Hermione and Ron had heard about the Talking Tortoises, and wanted to meet them.  
However, when they reached there, there was not a tortoise in sight. They searched high  
and low, but found no trace of them.

"I guess they've gone somewhere to sleep," said Shan apologetically, "although I would  
have thought they'd still be awake. Those we saw that time - " she broke off, remembering  
that the flight with the Silverwing was still a secret, and gave Harry a guilty grin.

Ron and Hermione looked rather disappointed. Even the peach trees had let them down.  
Their green foliage was now devoid of flowers, and the carpet of blossoms on the ground  
had disappeared.

They contented themselves with sitting on the shore of the lake, eating the moon-cakes,  
and watching the lanterns bobbing up and down.

"Wonder what the Emperor's envoys are doing here," said Pixie thoughtfully, watching a  
peacock lantern bobbing up and down above her. "Probably wants to ask Lady Wen-Li  
a favour; they say ever since someone broke into the Imperial Archives a few months  
back, he's become paranoid, keeps an escort of guards around him wherever he goes."

Hermione looked interested.

"Someone broke into the Archives?" she said. "What did they steal?"

"No one knows," said Pixie. "The Imperial Spokesman wouldn't say, just said it's the fact  
that someone managed to break in that's important. Even so," she added, "a huge search  
has been mounted for the culprit. I'm willing to bet that something important was stolen.  
Maybe that's why the Officials are in Long-Shanthe thief might have taken refuge in this  
area."

"There are all those Pugilists in town too," pointed out Shan. "I'm sure they're not just here  
to select students."

They discussed it a while, but couldn't come up with anything. Harry and Ron were still  
hoping that a Duelling Tournament would be held, but with only one week left at Tian-Long,  
it seemed unlikely they would be able to watch it, anyway.

"Well, if there's one, you can tell us about it when you come to Hogwarts," said Ron gloomily,  
as they got up to go.

"We won't be able to watch it either," Shan reminded him, "We'll be coming to Hogwarts the  
day after you leave here."

They boarded the junk and headed back to the other end of the lake, Sang Nila following them  
all the way. As they disembarked, Robert said he would stay with Sang Nila a while longer, so  
the others left him and made their way up the steep steps leading to the bamboo grove, stumbling  
a bit in the dark. As they were leaving the grove and heading back to the school, Shan suddenly  
pulled at Harry's sleeve and said quietly, "There's a light in the hut."

The others were in front, and didn't hear. Harry turned to look. The windows of Mrs Chen's  
small hut, visible in the distance, were lit.

Shan stared at the hut for a while, then started off toward it. Harry hesitated; he looked at the  
others. Hermione was far in front, with Ron and Pixie trailing some distance behind her, looking  
quite absorbed in each other. He watched them for a moment, then turned and followed Shan.

"Look, the animals are still there," said Shan, in an odd voice. Several mountain wolves were  
sitting outside the hut. A few deer vanished into the darkness of the surrounding trees.

They came up to the doorway, and looked in. The walls of the hut were flickering with light  
from the fireplace, and Jeanne was seated at a table. She must have been clearing Mrs Chen's  
belongings away, because the hut looked bare now, and some boxes were stacked neatly  
near the door.

Jeanne looked up, surprised, when they came in. Shan did not look pleased to see her. She  
hesitated a second, and did not greet Jeanne. Then she looked over at the fireplace, and her  
face brightened. Harry, turning, saw that one of the wolves was lying by the fire.

"Look, it's my wolf, the one I was talking to a month ago," Shan said softly. Ignoring Jeanne,  
she went over to the wolf, and sat down next to it.

Harry watched her, feeling rather exasperated, then went over to where Jeanne was sitting.

"Hullo," he said, as she looked at him and smiled, "Are you tidying up here?"

"Not exactly," she replied, looking around the hut. "I cleared most of Mrs Chen's things  
several days ago. I just came by tonight to look for a set of jade cups which she said she  
wanted me to have, to thank me for looking after her. She said they were hidden in a box  
in a corner of her cupboard, but when I cleared everything out I couldn't find them anywhere."

Harry looked at the table at which she was sitting. The leftovers of the herbs that he'd seen  
the night Ron had brought his robes to be altered lay scattered there. He glanced at the  
fireplace; a cauldron was bubbling over the fire.

He looked at Jeanne again; she was now putting the herbs back into a box, and was taking  
a goblet out.

"What are you - ?" he began, and then he suddenly turned and looked at the wolf by the fire.

The hut was dark, and Harry couldn't see the wolf clearly. Shan was curled up next to it,  
talking cosily. It lay there quietly, as if listening to her, then turned and looked enigmatically  
at Harry.

Harry went over to the door and looked out. The sky was clear of clouds, and the bamboos  
were silhouetted blackly against a moon that looked decidedly full and bright.

He went back to Jeanne, who had been watching him with a small smile on her face. He  
looked at her a moment, then bent down and whispered, "Is that wolf who I think it is?"

Her smile grew broader, and she nodded.

Harry turned to look at the wolf again. Shan was lying down now, using the wolf's back  
as a pillow, and gazing into the fire.

"Let her be, Harry," said Jeanne quietly, glancing at them. "Remus doesn't mind her talking  
to him, and he's been very discreet. He's refused to tell me anything that she's told him."

Harry looked at the goblet and herbs.

"Does he still need the tonic?" he said. "I thought"

She gave a small sigh.

"He still falls ill whenever he transforms. We don't know why. Curing him of being a  
werewolf hasn't solved everything, you know"

She paused and looked at the wolf, and seeing that it was looking at her, smiled at it.  
She then turned back to Harry.

"Because the cure is a secret, he can't publicly clear his name. There'll still be difficulty  
if we were to decide to leave Hogwarts and find work elsewhere. People still shun him."

She looked over at the fireplace again. Shan, tired out by the day's activities, seemed to  
have fallen asleep. She was still using the wolf's back as a pillow, her face half-hidden in  
its fur, one arm around its neck.

Jeanne looked thoughtfully at her.

"You can leave her here, Harry," she said quietly, "I'll wait till she wakes up. There's  
something I need to talk to her abouther mother left a message for her, the day she  
died."

Harry looked at her in surprise, then nodded. He stood for a few moments, looking at  
the wolf and sleeping girl, then said good night to Jeanne, and left the hut.

Shan looked her usual self the next day, and Harry couldn't tell whether Jeanne had  
succeeded in talking to her or not. They had Geomancy that morning. Now that both  
the Potions and Black Way Masters had gone, Lady Han-Yin had taken over Potions  
again, and Lady Wen-Li had substituted the Black Way class with Geomancy, which  
was also taught by Madam Tang. She would, however, often replace teaching them  
_feng-shui_ with her other, more beloved Divination topics, like _I Ching_. Today, she  
was droning on about the Ten Heavenly Stems and the Twelve Earthly Branches.

The students were in no mood to listen. The incense in the room was making them all  
feel sleepy, and there was an end-of-term feel in the air, because this was their last week.

Fatty and Chee Chong had not appeared in the dormitory the previous night, but they  
turned up at breakfast, looking tired and red-eyed. Chee Chong seemed more depressed  
about Chester than his parents' farm, for he said the rice had already been harvested,  
and they only had to rebuild their small house.

Fatty was looking resigned.

"I've got some business projects of my own," he said. "They're small affairs, but I'm going  
to try helping my father start over again. There's a project Mui Sing and I are working on  
that may turn out quite well." He looked earnestly at Harry. "Don't worry, Harry. Madam  
Tang said you are going to bring me good luck."

Harry groaned inwardly. He felt like telling Fatty that Madam Tang was probably as much  
a fraud as Professor Trelawney.

Crabbe and Goyle were looking insecure without Malfoy around, and they were also  
looking rather ill. After the class, Crabbe went over to Shan as she was handing in her  
homework to Madam Tang, and mumbled something to her. She looked surprised,  
then nodded.

"He and Goyle are not feeling well," she said, coming back and picking up her bag,  
"I'm going to bring them to see the school healer."

Ron's eyes gleamed.

"Let's follow along," he said, as Shan and Robert disappeared out the door with  
Crabbe and Goyle, "This is too good a chance to missimagine seeing Crabbe  
and Goyle being stuck full of needles."

Pixie and the others had gone for their other classes, so only Ron, Harry and Hermione  
were left. They followed at a distance. Crabbe and Goyle looked like two blimps,  
waddling along behind Shan and Robert.

They waited outside the sickroom. After about half an hour, Shan came out, together  
with Robert.

"Master Yao is doing acupuncture on them," she said, giggling a bit. "They have been  
eating too many wintermelon sweets. They bought the sweets from an unlicensed shop  
in the forbidden district - Master Yao is going to report them to Lady Han-Yin, because  
they know they weren't supposed to go there. Anyway, the sweets have been doctored  
so that the more you eat, the hungrier you get. It's a ploy, to get customers addicted to  
the sweets. And there were warnings on the wrapper that the sweets can cause obesity,  
but Crabbe and Goyle couldn't read them because they were in Chinese."

A series of loud groans came from the interior of the sickroom.

"Can we go in and watch?" asked Ron, looking as though this news had made his day.

Shan grinned, but shook her head.

"'Fraid not," she said. "They've had to undress. You'll have to content yourselves with  
listening."

The remainder of the week flew by. It was a queer week; the school now seemed to  
be full of visitors all the time. Lady Wen-Li had now also allowed the Pugilists entry  
into the school, and Harry and the others could see them wandering around the grounds  
at times. It appeared, though, that they were not being allowed to stay in the palace,  
for most of them seemed to be making camp in the grounds, by the lake or on the cliff  
overlooking it.

On the morning of the last day, Jeanne came looking for Harry, and found him with Ron,  
just about to enter the Green Dragon common room.

"I'm leaving a bit earlier," she told them, lowering a large box she was carrying to the floor.  
"First of all, Lady Wen-Li has managed to obtain the loan of some scrolls from the Imperial  
Archives, which Professor Sinistra has requested to study." She pointed at the large box,  
which had the seal of a golden dragon stamped on it.

Harry stared at the seal, startled. "Is that the Emperor's seal?"

Jeanne nodded.

"The scrolls are too precious to send together with our usual luggage," she went on, "so  
I'm bringing them back with me. Professor Dumbledore said it'd be better to get them into  
Hogwarts as soon as possible."

Harry looked at the Imperial Seal again. That scroll on Liu Pei's deskit had borne a  
similar seal

"I also need to bring Crabbe and Goyle back to Hogwarts," said Jeanne, looking resigned.  
"Severus has heard about what happened to them here, and they're in disgrace now. Lady  
Han-Yin sent someone down to the City to ask around and find out how often they have  
been seen around the Forbidden Area, and it seems they have been sneaking out illegally  
and going there almost every weekend. They're to return a bit earlier, and let Madam  
Pomfrey shrink them back to normal size."

"Oh," said Ron, trying not to look too pleased.

Jeanne looked at the expression on his face, and her eyes twinkled.

"See you all back at Hogwarts, then," she said.

Harry was still thinking about the scroll.

"Jeanne," he said casually, as she bent down to pick the box up, "do you happen to know  
why the Emperor's officials are all hanging around the school?"

Jeanne's expression didn't change, but Harry fancied she tightened her hold slightly on  
the box.

"I can't say, Harry," she said, giving a small shrug, and returning his gaze calmly, "You  
would have to ask Lady Wen-Li; she's the one who's allowed them into the school."

She smiled, then turned and left.

Harry went into the common room with Ron, thinking.

"What's up, Harry?" asked Ron curiously. "Why'd you ask her that?"

Shan was sitting in a corner of the room doing her homework, with Robert and  
Hermione next to her, discussing books. Hermione had discovered that the one way  
to draw Robert out of his customary silence was to talk to him about schoolwork or  
about books, and she had struck up a sort of friendship with him, since the time he  
had erased the ink from her essays.

Harry looked at them. He didn't want to tell everyone about Liu Pei's scroll - he hated  
to admit it, but he didn't really care for Pixie to know - but he didn't mind telling Shan  
and Robert. If the scroll turned out to be important he would definitely have to tell one  
of the Tian-Long students anyway, because the scroll was in Chinese, and there was  
no way he or Ron or Hermione were going to be able to figure out what was on it.

"What did Jeanne want, Harry?" asked Hermione, who had seen Jeanne through the  
door.

Ron, for some reason, looked displeased that she was discussing books with Robert,  
but said nothing as he and Harry sat down next to them.

"She's going back to Hogwarts a bit earlier," said Harry. "Lady Wen-Li borrowed  
some scrolls for Professor Sinistra from the Imperial Archives, and Dumbledore wants  
them in Hogwarts as soon as possible."

He looked at Ron, who was still looking quizzically at him.

"The night I let Yang-Kang out from under the bell," he said to Ron, "I saw a scroll in  
Liu Pei's office, on his desk. It had the Imperial Seal on it."

The others were also listening.

"The scroll had a star chart on it," Harry went on. "And those scrolls Jeanne is bringing  
back must have something to do with astronomy, they're for Professor Sinistra. I was  
just wondering if there's any connection."

Ron shrugged. "Well, what if there is?"

"There's more," said Harry. "After Yang-Kang left, I was at the end of the corridor  
outside the office, looking out of the window. When I turned around, I saw someone  
leaving through a door at the other end of the corridor, and after that when I went to  
look for the scroll again, it was gone."

They stared at him.

"Someone stole an Imperial scroll?" said Shan. "Did you see who it was?"

The words "Dementor" and "Deorg" came into Harry's mind, but he dismissed both  
of them as ridiculous.

"It was dark," he said. "I only know that the person was tall, and hooded, and robed  
in black."

The others looked intrigued.

"What's in your mind, Harry?" said Hermione. "D'you think one of the scrolls Jeanne  
is bringing back is Liu Pei's scroll?"

"I'm not sure," said Harry. "But those envoysthey've been hanging around for days.  
They've been snooping all around the palace and the grounds, as if they're looking for  
something."

Shan glanced at Robert, then looked at Harry.

"Harry," she said, "are you saying that those scrolls were the articles stolen from the  
Imperial Archives?"

"I don't know," admitted Harry. "I mean, I definitely don't think Lady Wen-Li could  
have stolen them, of course. But something odd is going on."

The rest were looking excited now.

"This is interesting," said Shan, always glad of an excuse to look for an adventure,  
"It's good that we're going to Hogwarts. Since the scrolls will be there, we can try  
peeking at them if we have a chance."

Hermione frowned at this idea, obviously thinking it would be a violation of rules.   
Ron was looking doubtful.

"It isn't likely that the scrolls were stolen," he said. "If they were, the thief wouldn't  
let them get out of his hands."

"Maybe the thief's trying to get them out of the country, since the Emperor's men  
are all hot on his heels," said Shan, stubbornly. "The thief must have influenced Lady  
Wen-Li not to allow any of the visitors to stay in the palace, so that they can't get  
near the scrolls. That's why they're all camping in the grounds."

"All of you aren't thinking clearly," announced Hermione, "Professor Sinistra specifically  
requested those scrolls; they can't have been stolen."

"Maybe Liu Pei's scroll was the article that was stolen," suggested Shan, "and the thief  
has slipped it in among the other scrolls."

Robert had been remaining silent, as usual, but he now looked at Harry.

"You said you looked at Liu Pei's scroll, Harry," he said, "What was on it?"

"Well" Harry hesitated, trying to remember, "Besides the star chart, there were a lot  
of Chinese words; but it was so old and dirty, it was hard to make out anything. I couldn't  
recognise any of the constellations."

"You wouldn't be able to," said Robert. "The ancient Chinese astronomers had a different  
way of mapping the sky from those in the west."

"Really?" said Hermione, "How interesting! I'd love to - "

But at this moment, Pixie came over to join them. Harry didn't have the heart to tell Ron  
to keep Liu Pei's scroll a secret from her, but to his relief, when Ron started telling her  
about it, she didn't seem interested at all. She started chattering about some other matter  
instead, until Ron finally gave up.

They were to leave after lunch. Lady Wen-Li had arranged for the stone pillar Portkey  
to be placed just outside the entrance of Green Dragon Pagoda, and once they had  
finished lunch - they had taken it in the Hall of Dragons, since it was their last day - they  
left through the main entrance of the Hall, and started off toward the Pagoda.

Harry fell behind a bit, because two first-years stopped him for an autograph. He obliged  
them cheerfully enough, since he was leaving anyway, then hurried to catch up with the  
others. He was passing one of the classrooms when he suddenly heard a familiar chirping  
noise.

Harry turned around sharply. The sound was coming from a group of students, standing  
near the door of the classroom. He knew that sound; he had been listening to it almost  
every night, for several weeks.

He went up to the group, tugging at the Translator to make sure it was around his neck.

"It's a very good specimen, Yin-Ling, I can vouch for it."

"One gold piece is too much. Anyway, how can I take your word? I've got to see it in  
action first."

Mui Sing, Fatty's friend from White Tiger, was standing there, talking animatedly to a  
girl from Crimson Phoenix. Two other girls were standing by, watching. Mui-Sing was  
holding a little bamboo cage, with her cricket Mu-Lan inside. Or _was_ it Mu-Lan?

"It's too noisy," added the Crimson Phoenix girl, looking at the cage. "Listen to it!  
Lai-Fong tells me it has been keeping all the White Tiger students up every night with  
its chirping."

The cricket chirped again. Harry, too excited to listen any more, hurried forward.

"_I'll_ buy that cricket!" he said, feeling around in his pocket. "How much are you asking  
for it?"

The girls turned to look at him, surprised. Mui Sing looked startled, and then a cunning  
expression came over her face.

"Three gold pieces," she lied.

"What?" said Yin-Ling in Chinese, her eyes widening, "You only asked me for one gold  
piece, just now!"

Harry, however, was in no mood to bargain. He took out three gold pieces and gave  
them to Mui Sing, who began to look sorry she hadn't asked for five.

Harry took the bamboo cage from her, and then, clutching it tightly, dashed excitedly  
after the others. He reached the top of the stairs leading to the entranceway, and saw  
them just about to leave the palace.

"Chee Chong!" he shouted. "Hi, Chee Chong, wait up! Chester's alive!"

The group at the door turned to look at him. Harry sprinted down the stairs, waving  
the bamboo cage in excitement.

"It's Chester!" he panted, stopping in front of them. "Mui Sing had him all the time.  
That wasn't Chester Yu-Lin killed, Chee Chong - it was Mu-Lan!"

Chee Chong, his eyes wide, had come forward, and was staring at the cricket as if he  
was afraid to believe his eyes. The cricket looked perkily back at him, its antennae  
waving slightly, and then let out a couple of quizzical chirps.

"That's Chester, all right!" exclaimed Fatty, in a strangled voice. "I'd recognise that  
chirping anywhere!"

Chee Chong took the cage, his hands shaking slightly. The rest all stood around  
watching him, and grinning.

"Chester!" he said, as he slid the door open, and Chester came crawling out, his  
antennae waving enthusiastically. He hopped onto Chee Chong's shoulder, and sat  
there, looking pleased; he gave off a few happy chirps.

Chee Chong's face was very red.

"Thank you, Hally," he said, getting his English mixed up in the emotion of the moment.

Harry just grinned, and felt extremely pleased with himself. Fatty looked at him.

"I know she's been trying to sell her cricket," he said, obviously referring to Mui Sing.  
"How much did you pay her for it?"

Harry told him. Fatty looked outraged.

"That's daylight robbery!" he said, scowling. "Let me talk to her. This won't do she can't - "

"Drop it, Fatt," said Shan, in an undertone. "Look at Chee Chong's face; those three gold  
pieces were worth it."

Lady Wen-Li and Lady Han-Yin were now coming down the stairs from the Hall of Dragons,  
to see them off, so they all turned and went out of the palace, and made their way to the Pagoda,  
where the Portkey was.

Harry, Ron and Hermione gathered round the pillar, and turned to have a last look at the school.  
The green House dragon was perched over the entrance of the Pagoda as usual, watching them.  
The five House Pagodas rose high up into the blue sky, and the golden roofs of the palace were  
shining in the afternoon sun, against a backdrop of mountains. The bamboo grove could be seen  
in the distance, and behind that, the Caverns were just visible.

Hermione gave a small sigh.

"Time really flew, didn't it?" she said. "I lost track of it, because they've been following the Lunar  
calendar here."

Lady Wen-Li and Lady Han-Yin were smiling, and nodded at them. Shan, with LeafSong peeking  
out of her pocket, grinned and said, "See you at Hogwarts tomorrow evening."

Robert, next to her, just gave them his usual quiet smile. Chee Chong and Fatty were waving and  
smiling, the latter's eyes disappearing into two small slits, and the former with Chester on his head,  
who seemed to be waggling his antennae at them in farewell too. Pixie was squealing tearfully,  
"See you soon!" She looked as if she wanted to kiss Ron good-bye, but with Lady Wen-Li and  
Lady Han-Yin there, didn't dare to.

Harry, Ron and Hermione grinned and nodded at all of them, and then they placed their hands on  
the Portkey. Harry felt that familiar jerking feeling behind his navel, and then they were leaving China,  
speeding back to Hogwarts in a howl of wind and swirling colour.

**END OF PART ONE**

**PART TWO COMING UP SHORTLY :o)**

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Chinese Notes :**

If you'd like to know more about the Mid-Autumn festival, go to **http://www.chinapage.org/Moon/moon-festival.html**


	16. (PART TWO) Back At Hogwarts

  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON - PART TWO  
**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  


**Chapter XVI**

**_Back at Hogwarts_**

  
_What I love best in all the world  
Is a castle, precipice-encurled_

_~ R.Browning   
  
_

**H**arry was lounging on one of the squashy armchairs in the Gryffindor common room,  
drinking his fourth bottle of butterbeer. It had been morning when he, Ron and Hermione  
had arrived back at Hogwarts, and the Gryffindors had taken their return as an excuse to  
throw a small party. The evening had been a most satisfactory one, spent recounting their  
exploits in China.

The remnants of the party now lay all about them; empty beer bottles were scattered  
around various parts of the room, half-eaten goodies (smuggled in from Honeydukes) lay  
on the table, while several unopened bottles of pumpkin juice stood on the floor.

Most of the Gryffindors had gone to bed, leaving only the students in Harry's year who had  
volunteered to clean up the mess. Ron was sitting next to Harry, Summoning empty beer  
bottles to himself and placing them in a large bucket. Hermione, who had been the only one  
to bring a camera to Tian-Long, was packing her photographs away. She appeared to have  
just remembered something, for there was a slightly worried expression on her face.

"Whassup?" said Harry, looking lazily at her.

"Crabbe and Goyle," said Hermione seriously, "Professor McGonagall told me, when I went  
to hand in my homework, that they've been suspended from the exchange programme as well."

"They have?" said Ron, his face brightening. "No kidding?"

Hermione frowned at him.

"What's the problem, Hermione," said Harry, stretching and tossing his empty bottle into Ron's  
bucket, "it's an all-round victory for us - we've managed to get rid of all three of 'em : Crabbe,  
Goyle, _and_ Malfoy."

"Well, yes, but don't you see," said Hermione impatiently, "that only leaves three Hogwarts  
students in the exchange classit's disgraceful. The programme is to let the Chinese students  
interact with the British studentsit won't be a proper exchange programme, if there are so  
few of us."

"Oh, didn't McGonagall tell you?" said Dean, who had overheard. "The rest of our class have  
been roped into the programme as well."

"What?" The three of them turned to look at him.

"We've still got our usual classes," said Seamus, who was with Dean, "but McGonagall told us  
before you came back that we're to attend the exchange classes as well. Not all of them, but  
she said that at least three of us have to attend each class, to make up for the three missing  
Hogwarts students. We have to decide among ourselves who's to attend what."

"Well, some of that is easily solved," said Ron. "Parvati and Lavendar definitely won't mind  
having an extra Divination lesson or two."

"And Defence Against the Dark Arts, that's alright too," said Harry.

"Butwho wants to volunteer for Potions?" said Dean, casting a sly glance at Neville, who  
was nearby, listening.

Neville, however, shocked them by saying, "I'll attend Potions - for the first month, anyway."

All of them goggled at him in surprise. Neville, seeing this, went pink.

"Neville, are you all right?" said Ron at last, breaking the stunned silence. "I mean, you're not  
delirious with fever or anything, are you?"

Neville went pinker, then gave them a sheepish grin. He didn't elaborate further, though, but  
got to his feet and said, "I'm going to bed."

He started going up the spiral staircase to the boys' dormitory, still grinning. The rest watched  
him, mystified.

"Starkers," said Ron, shaking his head. "Anything happened to him while we were gone? Like,  
did Snape force some brainwashing potion down his throat, or something?"

"No," said Seamus, still gaping at Neville in amazement as his chubby figure disappeared inside  
the dormitory, "Everything's as it has always been - him being terrified of Snape, that is."

Hermione had finished packing the photographs away.

"Where d'you think they're going to sleep?" she asked, obviously referring to the Tian-Long  
students.

"In our dorms," said Dean promptly. "McGonagall said that there's room for a few more beds,  
though it'll be a rather tight squeeze."

"Better make sure the passwords don't have any l's or r's in them for the next two months, then,"  
said Ron, grinning, "or Chee Chong won't be able to get into the common room."

That night when he got into bed, Harry instinctively expected to find Ping-Ping there, lying at his  
feet. He found himself dreaming he was flying the Silverwing again over an endless sea of cloud.  
It dove through the cloud, and he was suddenly back in Liu Pei's study, looking at the scroll on  
the table. A noise behind him made him turn around, and there was a Dementor, towering over  
him. It was coming nearer and nearerand he was backing awayand then - he woke up.

He sat up in bed, heart thumping, and saw that it was just past midnight. Getting out for a drink  
of water, he noticed that the curtains of Ron's bed were partly drawn. Through the opening it  
could be seen that Ron had lit his wand, and was lying on his stomach, writing.

Harry went over, and lifted one of the curtains away.

"What're you doing?" he whispered. "You're not doing your homework in bed, are you?"

Ron gave a start of fright, and hurriedly hid the piece of parchment that he'd been writing on under  
his blanket, before he realised it was only Harry.

"Gave me a fright, you," he whispered, taking the parchment out again. "Oh no" he looked at it,  
"I smudged it"

Harry peered at it. It was a letter to Pixie.

"What're you writing to her for?" he whispered incredulously, "you'll be seeing her later today!"

It was too dark to see, but Harry was sure Ron's face had turned red.

"Just letting her know I got back safely," he mumbled, as if Portkeying back to Hogwarts had  
been a long and dangerous journey. "She made me promise I'd write."

Harry looked at him, slightly exasperated.

"Ron," he said in an undertone, "The letter'll never reach there in time. It'll take ages for Pig to  
get to China, and Pixie will have left by the time he gets there."

Ron looked sheepish. Harry grinned at him, but knew better than to say more, so he went and  
got his drink, and then got back into bed. He lay there a while, thinking it would be fun to show  
Shan and the others around Hogwarts. He was imagining all of them watching him in admiration  
during Quidditch practice (alas, the next match would be in late February, and the exchange  
programme would be over by then) as he zoomed around on his Firebolt, when he finally  
managed to doze off.

Professor McGonagall had informed them that they were to receive the Tian-Long students  
in front of the castle that evening before it got too dark, and so, at four o'clock, they promptly  
assembled in front of the Entrance Hall steps. Winter had set in early that year, and they found  
themselves shivering slightly in their cloaks. The entire class was there, since all of them were  
now involved in the programme. Parvati and Lavendar were occasionally casting sly glances  
at Ron, who was looking irritably back at them. Although nothing explicit had been mentioned  
about him and Pixie the previous night, Parvati and Lavendar had soon surmised that something  
was up, especially as Ron always seemed to be standing next to Pixie in every photograph; and  
they had been looking forward most enthusiastically to the Tian-Long students' arrival.

Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall were there too, but Jeanne did not join them, as Harry  
thought she might. Instead, to his astonishment, Hagrid turned up.

"Whatever are you doing here, Hagrid?" asked Hermione, looking surprised as well, as he came  
up to them.

"Jeanie tol' me ter come," he said, beaming, obviously pleased to see them again. "Said yeh'd  
need help ter carry all the luggage into the castle. Said she'd do my chores for me, this evenin'."

"Luggage?" said Ron, surprised, "But - their luggage already arrived, an hour ago! It's in our  
dormsthe house-elves must've brought it up."

Hermione frowned at the mention of house-elves, while Hagrid looked perplexed. Dumbledore,  
seeing him, came up to them, smiling.

"Well, Hagrid?" he said, a twinkle in his eye, "are you here to greet the Chinese students as well?"

Hagrid was about to reply, when Parvati and Lavendar suddenly cried out in surprise. Harry,  
turning to look, realised why Jeanne had asked Hagrid to come. A large Silverwing was flying  
over the grounds toward them. Chen-Kang was seated in front, guiding it, with Shan and the  
others behind him, spaced out at intervals between the spikes on the dragon's back. To Harry's  
astonishment, Robert was sitting at the rear, next to Sang Nila who was lashed securely to the  
dragon's tail. The Silverwing flew low over the lake and hovered there, its huge wings beating  
strongly, as Robert cut Sang Nila free and let him slide into the icy water with a loud splash.

"That Robert is crazy!" said Ron, watching, "Bringing that Merlion along, when the water's  
freezing!"

"Nonsense, he can easily withstand it," said Hermione loftily, "don't forget, the merpeople live  
in the lake too, even in winter. Robert told me Sang Nila wants to meet them."

Hagrid was standing as if spellbound, watching the Silverwing which was now winging over toward  
them. Seamus and the others, still unused to the idea of tame dragons - despite what Harry had  
been telling them - retreated a few paces.

The Silverwing landed neatly on the lawn in front of them, and folded its wings. Pixie, obviously  
thrilled to see them again, was waving enthusiastically with both arms.

"RONNIEKINS!!" she screamed, almost falling off the dragon in excitement, "RONNIEKINS,  
WE'RE HERE, WE'VE ARRIVED!!!"

Dumbledore's beard quivered, and his eyes were twinkling, but Professor McGonagall frowned  
and looked disapprovingly at Ron. Parvati and Lavendar burst into giggles, while Seamus and  
Dean began sniggering and nudging each other. Ron's face turned the colour of an overripe  
tomato, and he looked as if he wished the ground would split open and swallow him up.

"Look!" said Hermione in surprise, pointing at a tiny figure on Shan's shoulder, "they've brought  
Ting-Ting along!"

Ting-Ting seemed to be looking around, and then, all of a sudden, she vanished.

The Tian-Long students dismounted, and Dumbledore and the others went up to greet them.

Harry tugged at Hagrid's sleeve.

"C'mon, Hagrid," he said, pulling him over to the Silverwing, "better enjoy it while it's here."

Dumbledore was speaking to Fatty and the others, and Hermione began introducing the  
Gryffindors. After a while Shan came over to Harry, who was watching Hagrid petting the  
Silverwing, which was staring unwinkingly at him. Hagrid was stroking it as if it was some  
fragile piece of china, looking as if he was afraid any sudden movements would make it  
disappear. Chen-Kang was standing next to him, looking amused.

"Hi, Harry," Shan said, looking at Hagrid, "Is that Hagrid?"

"Yep," said Harry, looking at Hagrid's happy face in satisfaction, "that's Hagrid."

To Hagrid's disappointment, Chen-Kang declined to stay for dinner, saying he had to  
return to take care of his other dragons. Harry and the others watched as he mounted  
the Silverwing.

Hagrid looked like a child whose favourite toy was being taken away from him. He watched  
mournfully as the dragon unfurled its huge wings, and launched itself into the air.

"Bye-bye, li'l dragon," he said forlornly, waving at the swiftly disappearing figure, "come back  
soon."

"Where did Chen-Kang get it?" asked Harry, as the Silverwing vanished from sight.

Shan shrugged.

"He has his ways," she said, and then added regretfully, "We're not keeping it, though. It'll  
go back to the wild once he gets back. We needed a Silverwing, because it could Apparate  
us here. We had to fly in because we couldn't Apparate within the grounds."

Hagrid's eyes were brimming, and he was still staring at the sky as if he had lost his best friend.

"Don't feel bad, Hagrid," said Hermione consolingly, "you'll get to see it again, at the end of  
the exchange programme."

Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall had gone inside the castle, leaving the Gryffindors  
to show the Tian-Long students around. To Ron's dismay, Pixie had struck up an instant  
friendship with Parvati and Lavendar, and they were moving toward the Entrance Hall steps,  
giggling and chattering away. Seamus and Dean were examining Fatty's crystal globe. Neville  
was looking at Chester, who was peeking out of Chee Chong's pocket.

"I tell you, you shouldn't have brought Chester along, Chong," said Shan, rather impatiently.  
"He'll freeze here. I had to leave LeafSong behind, because reptiles don't like cold weather."

"He will get lonesome," said Chee Chong stubbornly, as Trevor, Neville's toad, looked  
interestedly at Chester, who promptly disappeared inside the pocket.

The Tian-Long students seemed keen to look around the castle. Chee Chong, in particular,  
was rather overcome when he saw how grand the Entrance Hall was. Unlike the others,  
who were urban and lived in countries which had a fair bit of exposure to western culture,  
he was from a quiet village in central China, and being in Britain was quite an adventure for  
him.

"In Tian-Long, the walls and staircases don't keep moving around," said Shan, examining  
a suit of armour with interest. They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, and Dean gave  
the password (tiddlywinks). Harry had thought Robert might have trouble getting in through  
the portrait hole because he was so small, but he simply transformed his wand into a staff,  
and neatly poled himself in.

"This is so fun," said Pixie, giggling, and glancing coyly at some of the other Gryffindor  
boys in the room who were looking appreciatively at her, "We don't need a password  
to get into the pagodas. The House Animals usually keep watch; they know when an  
intruder is entering, even though there are so many exits."

The girls went up their spiral staircase into their dormitory, the boys doing likewise.  
Fatty, after looking around the room, promptly took a wind chime out of his lacquer  
box and hung it over the dormitory door.

"What are you doing?" Seamus asked curiously.

"It's for good _feng-shui_," explained Fatty, very seriously. "It will prevent too much  
energy from flowing out of the room."

Seamus looked totally bewildered. Ron, overhearing, looked puzzled.

"But in Tian-Long, we didn't need to have a wind-chime over the door," he pointed  
out.

"That's _different_," said Fatty, as if the reason was obvious. "The dormitory door there  
didn't face the staircase."

Ron looked as bewildered as Seamus. They were interrupted, however, by an  
exclamation from Chee Chong, who had just opened his trunk. Harry, turning  
around, saw two familiar black and white faces peeping out.

Ron gave a shout of laughter.

"Ping and Pong!" he said. "I don't believe it. Chee Chong, you brought them along!"

Chee Chong protested that he had done no such thing, and that the Pandas must  
have stowed themselves away in the trunk. Seamus, Dean and Neville watched as  
Ping clambered out of the trunk, bounced up and down on the floor a few times,  
and then rolled her way over to Harry.

"I guess they haven't been to Britain before, and they wanted to see what it was like,"  
said Fatty in a resigned voice, as Ping happily clambered onto Harry's bed and made  
herself comfortable there.

They were watching Pong roll over to Neville's bed, on which a packet of Honeydukes'  
sweets reposed, when a chorus of shrieks from outside distracted them. Rushing out,  
they found most of the other Gryffindors crowding around the door of the girls' dormitory.  
Harry, pushing his way in, was astonished to see a large monkey, the same one he had  
seen sparring with the pig the night he had explored the palace. It was swooping around  
the room, its arms full of someone's clothing. He guessed the clothes must be Pixie's,  
because she was shouting shrilly at the monkey in Chinese. It took no notice of her  
whatsoever, and was instead happily flinging each article of clothing to a different  
corner of the room.

"What on earth is _that_!" said Dean, who had also pushed his way in.

"We don't know," said Hermione, who was standing near the door with Shan, watching  
the monkey in fascination. "It was hiding inside Pixie's trunk; it flew out the minute she  
opened it." She frowned at the boys, who were all crowding in at the dormitory door. "And  
by the way, you _do_ know, don't you, that all of you are not supposed to come in here."

"It is Master Wu-Kung!" said Shan, looking at Robert and laughing, "I suppose we should  
have guessed, that he wouldn't be able to resist coming along."

Hermione watched with satisfaction as Pixie shook her fist at the monkey, which was  
hanging upside down in mid-air, making faces at her. It then threw one of her filmy  
nightdresses out the window, making her shriek in dismay.

"Master _what_?" said Ron, watching Pixie with some concern.

"Master Wu-Kung," repeated Shan. "S'un Wu-Kung - The Monkey King."

The monkey had now dropped the remainder of the clothes on top of Lavendar, who gave  
a small squeak of surprise. It then spied Hermione near the door, and flew over to her,  
hovering upside down and peering curiously at her. Hermione, startled, took a few steps  
backward.

"Looks as though you people have brought half of Tian-Long along with you to Hogwarts,"  
said Harry, as Ping and Pong rolled themselves in between the boys' feet into the dormitory.

Pixie was muttering evilly to herself, pointing her wand at the various corners of the room  
and Summoning her clothes back to her. Parvati went over to the window and Summoned  
the nightdress back in.

The monkey was still looking at Hermione in fascination. He extended one long arm, and  
prodded her curiously on the head.

"I thought he was a ghost," said Harry, as Hermione gave an indignant gasp, and retreated  
a few more paces.

Shan was watching in amusement.

"Master Wu-Kung is more than that," she said. "He's famous throughout China. He's the  
greatest prankster that ever lived, and he does whatever he pleases and travels wherever  
he wants to go. No prison can hold him in. He has been hanging around Tian-Long since  
the beginning of the year, but he's been busy training Pigsy lately, that's why you didn't  
see much of him while you were there."

The Monkey King suddenly gave a loud whoop, and leaping up in the air, did a couple  
of somersaults and cartwheels across the room. He then flew back, and conjuring a bunch  
of flowers in his hands, scattered them over Hermione. He then disappeared with a loud Pop!

"Well!" said Dean, watching in amazement, "I think this is going to be a really interesting  
exchange programme!"

  
  
Later that evening, as they went down to the Great Hall for dinner, the Tian-Long students  
attracted a number of curious stares because of their colourful robes. Pixie, in particular,  
was drawing a lot of attention, and not only because her robes were crimson. Ron was  
hovering near her, scowling at the various boys who were looking at her.

"Interesting," commented Fatty, looking up at the starry ceiling as they entered the Great  
Hall. They sat down at the Gryffindor table, Shan and Robert opposite Harry. As the food  
materialised on their plates, Harry asked why Ting-Ting had come along.

"She has been hankering to come back to England for more experience," said Shan, looking  
appreciatively at the stew that Robert was spooning onto her plate. "Says it'll increase her  
market value. Lady Wen-Li said she might as well come, she can prepare Chinese food  
for us if we get tired of English food."

Harry found himself wondering what the Hogwarts house-elves, especially Dobby and  
Winky, would make of Ting-Ting.

Chee Chong was eating in silence, looking at the gold plates and goblets in a slightly awed  
manner. Pixie, in between casting coy looks at the boys at the next table, was also looking  
curiously at the staff table. Ron had told her all about Snape, and this, coupled together  
with her great dislike of Potions, had made her feel rather uneasy about the coming Potions  
classes.

"So that's Professor Snape," said Shan, also looking at Snape, who was looking even more  
dour than usual. "He doesn't look as bad as you've made him out to be."

"That's because you haven't met him close-up, yet," said Ron sourly.

They were halfway through the meal when Nearly Headless Nick, the resident Gryffindor  
ghost, drifted into the Hall and seated himself in the empty chair next to Shan, smiling away.

"Nick!" said Harry, surprised. The ghosts didn't usually join them for meals except at the  
beginning of the school year, during the start-of-term feast. "What're you doing here?"

"I've come to welcome our new friends, of course!" said Nearly Headless Nick, beaming  
at Shan and the others. "An honour for Gryffindor, that we're hosting them for the exchange  
programme! A warm welcome to all of you, my dears! Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington,  
at your service!"

Robert looked his usual deadpan self, but the other Tian-Long students grinned rather  
embarrassedly back at him. Lavendar leaned over and whispered something to Pixie,  
who giggled and looked at Nearly Headless Nick with great interest.

"Nick," said Parvati, in a persuasive tone of voice, "could you show Pixie your - your - er "  
She indicated her neck with her finger.

Nearly Headless Nick's smile faded slightly, and he looked rather miffed. However, as all the  
Chinese students were now looking eagerly at him, he said irritably, "Oh, very well," and seizing  
his left ear, pulled it so that his head swung off his neck. Pixie gave a small squeal of delight,  
and clapped her hands.

"Ooh, Sir Mimsy, I think the ghosts here at Hogwarts are so _interesting_, much more than  
those at Tian-Long," she cooed, dimpling at Nearly Headless Nick, who looked embarrassed  
but also extremely pleased. Hermione, hearing this, rolled her eyes and looked at the ceiling in  
exasperation.

Nearly Headless Nick spent the rest of the meal entertaining them with stories about Hogwarts,  
and he only left them when they had finished dinner and were on their way back to the Gryffindor  
common room.

"Well, I agree with Xiao-Yan," said Shan, watching as Nearly Headless Nick waved at them and  
then disappeared through the wall of the corridor, "I think the ghosts here are nice - "

She didn't finish speaking, because a host of large balloons, filled with water, were now dropping  
out from the ceiling like stones, hitting the floor and exploding in bursts of water all around them.

The Chinese students looked startled at first, then automatically Shielded themselves. Looking up,  
they saw Peeves the poltergeist floating some twenty feet above them, his arms filled with water  
bombs.

"Ickle chinkies," he cackled, looking at the Tian-Long students. He lifted a water-bomb and,  
aiming carefully, threw it unerringly at Fatty. Fatty, however, had Shielded himself in front, and  
although the bomb exploded on impact, the water didn't penetrate the Shield.

Peeves continued hurling bombs at them. Most of the Chinese students were only able to partially  
Shield themselves, so, soaked and dripping, they converged on Robert, who obligingly raised a  
Shield large enough for all of them. Peeves, after hurling a few more bombs at them, realised that  
he wasn't going to be able to penetrate the Shield, so he began angrily pelting the Hogwarts  
students instead. Harry and the others danced around, trying to avoid the balloons. Hermione  
deflected one with a Banishing Charm; seeing this, the others began to follow suit, when all of a  
sudden all the balloons came to a halt in midair, abruptly changed direction and shot back upward  
toward Peeves, colliding into him in almighty burst of water.

Peeves cursed loudly, spluttering, and then began zooming around, trying to avoid the remaining  
water bombs which were still zipping after him. Harry glanced sharply at Robert to see if he was  
responsible, but Robert seemed as surprised as any of them.

They heard another excited cackling coming from behind them. Turning around, they saw another  
little man in a bell-covered hat and orange bow-tie. He swooped around, smiling wickedly, then  
suddenly dove at Hermione and brushed her soaking robes with his hand. There was a slight  
sizzling noise, and the robes shimmered and became completely dry. The second Peeves then  
zoomed upward to the ceiling, and with a small _pop!_ was gone. There, instead, hovered the  
Monkey King. With a loud whoop of laughter, it conjured up a few more water-bombs, and  
sent them shooting after the real Peeves.

Peeves, cursing angrily, dodged the bombs, and came hurtling after the monkey, an enraged  
expression on his face. The monkey gave a shriek of laughter and shot down the corridor,  
Peeves in hot pursuit.

They watched as the two disappeared from sight. Robert, seeing that they were no longer under  
attack, dissolved his Shield.

"Whatever's up with that monkey," wondered Parvati, glancing rather enviously at Hermione,  
who was looking nice and dry. "He seems to have taken a liking to Hermione."

Hermione looked as though she didn't know whether this was a compliment or not. Dean,  
looking at the mess on the floor, said, "Better get back to the common room before Filch  
sees this, or he'll think we did it."

They started making their way back, still dripping and leaving a trail of water behind them.  
Ron, watching Pixie wringing water out of her crimson robes, said to her, "Sostill think the  
ghosts here are better than those in China?"

The boys' dormitory, with three extra beds crammed into it, seemed very crowded that night.  
Harry, settling himself in his four-poster, could feel the warm furry ball that was Ping-Ping at  
his feet. Pong had for some reason decided to sleep in Neville's bed instead, much to Ron's  
relief. Chester, once again in his little bamboo cage next to Chee Chong's pillow, began  
chirping his customary night-song, and Harry, listening to him as he drifted off to sleep, almost  
felt as if they were all back in China again.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Chinese notes :**

More information on the Monkey King can be found at **http://www.chinapage.com/monkeyk.html**

- 


	17. The Wizard Who Loved China

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------  


**Chapter XVII**

**_The Wizard Who Loved China_**

  
_I long for places far beyond my native shore  
To see the Silk Route in the light of dawn  
The Yangtze flowing on forevermore,  
And mountains created when the world was born._

_I'll climb the Wall that never seems to end  
See the Emperor on his Dragon Throne  
Meet great warriors who may call me friend,  
And make this wild and ancient land my home.  
  
  
  
_**D**uring breakfast the next morning, Shan asked Harry whether he'd had a chance  
to have a look at the astronomy scrolls yet.

"Not yet," answered Harry. "We haven't had any lessons since we came back.  
Yesterday was Sunday."

The first exchange lesson they had that morning was Potions. Harry found himself  
wondering what the Chinese students would think of Snape. Pixie, to say the least,  
was looking very apprehensive. She didn't look very enthusiastic, either, when she  
saw the place where the class was to be held.

"It's so creepy," she said, looking around the dungeon. "We don't have any classrooms  
like this, in Tian-Long."

With the exception of Neville, none of the other Gryffindors had wanted to volunteer  
for Potions. In the end, Seamus and Dean said they would come for the first month,  
while Parvati and Lavendar agreed to attend in January. When they reached the  
dungeon, Neville further shocked everyone by taking a seat right in front. Seamus  
and Dean seated themselves a few tables behind, and were glaring at him from the  
back, muttering to themselves in amazement.

After several minutes, soft footsteps could be heard approaching, coming down the  
corridor outside.

"Snape's coming!" hissed Ron, who was seated near the door. The class immediately  
fell silent, and there was a rather tense atmosphere in the room.

The door swung open, and to their astonishment, they saw that the person coming  
down the corridor had not been Snape at all, but Jeanne.

She strode calmly in, carrying a large box, and going up to the front, placed it on the  
desk. She then turned around and stood there, smiling at them.

There was a stunned silence for a few moments.

"Jeanne!" said Harry, at last. "What're you doing here?"

There was a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"Conducting this class, so it seems," she answered. She saw Neville attentively sitting  
in the front seat, and her smile broadened.

"_What_?" said Ron, disbelievingly. "What about Snape?"

"Severus is too busy this month to conduct the exchange class," said Jeanne, "so  
Professor Dumbledore asked me to step in for him."

Seamus and Dean looked extremely pleased.

"Brilliant," said Dean. "Wait till we tell Parvati and Lavendar. Are you going to take  
over our regular Potions classes too?" They looked hopefully at her.

Jeanne laughed, but shook her head.

"Severus has agreed to help out with a project," she said, "but not to the extent that  
he has to be relieved of _all_ his classes."

She picked up a sheet of parchment.

"He gave me a list of instructions," she said, looking at it. "Today, you are to prepare  
a Confusing Concoction, and next week, a Shrivelling Solution."

The Hogwarts students groaned. They had done both potions before, and knew that  
they were extremely tedious to prepare, with ingredients were particularly foul-smelling  
and revolting in appearance.

Jeanne surveyed them for a moment, then crumpled the parchment up and tossed it aside.

"I don't see the need to follow that rigidly, though," she said calmly. "This is an exchange  
programme, and you won't be sitting for an exam. We shall do something else today."

The class looked relieved. Harry and Ron, who had been seated at the back of the room,  
gathered their things and came forward to sit in front instead.

Jeanne explained what they were to do, and then let them start work, going from table to  
table to check on them.

"Neville, you _knew_," said Ron accusingly, when Jeanne had gone to the back of the class  
to help Pixie, who as usual was in difficulties. Neville went pink, but grinned at them, and  
continued cutting up his ingredients. Harry noted that he seemed a lot more confident now  
that Jeanne was there, unlike Snape's classes where he was usually a nervous wreck.

"Why don't you take over our Potions classes permanently," suggested Ron, as Jeanne came  
up to Chee Chong who was working at the table just behind them. "Snape can continue  
teaching the rest of the Potions classes in the school."

She tapped Chee Chong's cauldron with her wand, to anchor it to the table, before coming  
over to Harry's table.

"You know I don't have the qualifications, Ron," she said, looking at him in amusement.  
Then, smiling impishly, she added, "And besides, I wouldn't _dream_ of depriving you of Severus'  
company."

Ron glared at her, and continued stirring his solution.

"So, what project is Snape involved in, now?" asked Harry, dumping his shrivelfigs into his  
cauldron. Chee Chong, behind them, made one of his usual windmill gestures while talking  
to Hermione, and whacked his cauldron from the side; but it was now firmly anchored to the  
table, and didn't budge.

"It's a Tian-Long project which Lady Han-Yin has decided to handle, now that Master Liu Pei  
is gone," said Jeanne, watching Ron chopping toadstools into small pieces. "Potions are not  
actually Lady Han-Yin's domain, so she has asked Severus for some advice, because it seems  
he's quite an expert in this particular field."

"What field is that?" asked Harry, willing to bet his Firebolt that it was something unpleasant.

Jeanne, however, refused to tell them. She just smiled, then went over to Pixie again, who  
was waving frantically at her from the back.

The potion they were preparing was a Singing Solution, from the same family of potions as  
the Polyjuice Potion, meaning that the final solution depended on the last ingredient to be added.  
Jeanne picked the box up from the desk, and they saw that it was filled with large oranges.  
She went around the class distributing them, two to a student. She then passed a small box  
around so that they could choose their final ingredient. It was filled with all sorts of small articles :  
pieces of uncooked pasta, bits of jade, a shamrock, holly, mistletoe, and several types of flower.

Harry chose the mistletoe, then passed the box to Ron, who took a piece of pasta out. They  
dropped the articles into their cauldrons and stirred until they dissolved. They then squirted a  
few drops of solution onto their oranges.

The oranges stirred, as if waking from a sound sleep. Two eyes popped out on each of them,  
fringed with long eyelashes, and a wide, curving mouth. Each orange then cleared its throat in  
a businesslike manner, fluttered its eyelashes, and began to sing. Harry's pair was singing  
Christmas carols, while Ron's had plunged into Italian opera.

"I say," said Ron, whose oranges were unusually loud and seemed to be trying to outsing each  
other, "If I had known, I'd have chosen the holly instead." He covered his ears, as the noise  
grew deafening.

They filed out of the dungeon when the lesson was over, clutching their oranges which were  
still singing at the tops of their voices. Jeanne had told them that the solution would wear off  
after a day, and that the only way to silence the oranges was to eat them. Ron, unable to  
tolerate the noise after a while, began to peel one of his oranges, and it stopped singing at once.

"What are you doing?" protested Hermione, "That was a beautiful aria!"

"Beautiful, nothing," said Ron, leaving the first orange half-peeled and starting on the second.  
"It's making me deaf."

Hermione looked indignant. She was carefully carrying her two oranges, who were singing  
an old Celtic song. "You don't know how to appreciate Puccini!"

Shan and Robert had chosen the pasta as well, and their oranges had taken one look at  
them and launched into _Turandot_. Shan looked rather subdued. She was still being cool  
to Jeanne, and Harry was sure that Jeanne had not succeeded in speaking to her that night  
in the bamboo grove. Pixie's oranges were singing a Hindustani song, while Fatty's were  
crooning a Hawaiian lovesong.

"This has marketing potential," said Fatty, looking at the oranges with a gleam in his eye.  
He took his crystal globe out and tapped it with his wand. Mui Sing's face appeared,  
and the two of them started chattering away in Cantonese.

Their next class was Care of Magical Creatures. Because of a clash of timetables,  
Professor McGonagall had been unable to arrange a separate class for the exchange  
programme, and had arranged instead for the Tian-Long students to attend the regular  
class together with the Gryffindors and the Slytherins.

"What're we currently doing for Magical Creatures?" asked Harry, as they made their  
way through the snow-covered grounds.

Neville looked glum.

"Hagrid's gotten hold of some fish called Popping Piranhas," he said. "He's keeping them  
in a heated tank near the lake."

"_Piranhas_?" said Hermione, shocked. "Aren't those dangerous?"

"Hagrid doesn't think so," said Seamus grumpily. "These are small ones, and they're not  
poisonous or anything, but they give quite a painful bite."

Chee Chong and Fatty looked apprehensive. Pixie began to examine her smooth hands  
and nicely-manicured nails, rather worriedly.

Hagrid was waiting for them when they arrived, his beetle-black eyes twinkling with  
enthusiasm.

"Good ter see yeh three back ag'n," he said when he saw them, "We've bin havin' a right  
treat, these two months," - Parvati and Lavendar glowered at him - "Yeh'll see what yeh've  
bin missin', today!"

"That's great, Hagrid," said Hermione, smiling bravely.

The Slytherins had arrived. Harry noted that Crabbe and Goyle had returned to their usual  
size, while Malfoy seemed quite unabashed that he had been suspended from the exchange  
programme. He smirked when he saw Shan standing next to Harry.

"Look, Potter and his girlfriend!" he said in a loud voice to Pansy Parkinson, who was next  
to him.

Hagrid had gone off to get something, but everyone else turned to look at Harry. Parvati and  
Lavendar looked surprised, then started giggling. Harry felt his face going red. He hardly  
dared to look at Shan.

I have to, he thought. I've got to face it, explain that there's nothing, to her

He looked at her. She had been looking around, to see who the supposed girlfriend was  
supposed to be, before she realised that Malfoy meant her. She turned to look at Harry,  
an incredulous expression on her face. Then, to his surprise, she laughed.

"Did you hear that, Robert?" she said, looking at Robert and chuckling, "Did you hear what  
Malfoy just said? Don't worry, Harry," she turned back to him, "I know Malfoy's trying to  
irritate us. Just ignore him."

Harry felt rather insulted. Couldn't she at least appear a _tiny_ bit embarrassed?

Shan was still laughing. Robert looked at Harry, and smiled at him.

Malfoy hadn't finished.

"Look, everyone!" he was now saying loudly to the Slytherins, "Look at Potter and his Plain  
Jane!"

Robert's smile vanished. He didn't say a word, and Harry didn't see him move, but all of a  
sudden Malfoy rose ten feet up in the air. He hung there for a few seconds, then flipped  
upside down and shot over to the lake, and plunged headfirst into it.

The Slytherins all gaped in surprise, and then hurried over to the lake. Shan glared at Robert.

"_Why'd you do that_?" she hissed, in an undertone. "You'll get us into trouble!"

Robert looked unperturbed.

"He deserved it," he said mildly, turning to watch in satisfaction. Malfoy was swimming to the  
shore as fast as he could, his robes clinging to him and bogging him down. Pansy was shrieking  
and pointing at something large that was vaguely visible in the water, pursuing him. He made it  
to the shore and scrambled out, bedraggled and furious, as Sang Nila lunged at him with a snap  
of his jaws. He looked at Malfoy for a few seconds, a sinister expression in his tawny eyes, and  
then slipped smoothly back underneath the surface of the water.

Malfoy was shivering, and Pansy rushed him indoors to see Madam Pomfrey and get him into  
dry clothes. They had hardly disappeared when Hagrid came back, whistling cheerfully, carrying  
two boxes. He didn't notice Malfoy's absence or the angry looks on the Slytherins' faces as  
they came back from the lake, simmering with rage, and casting black looks at Harry,  
obviously thinking him responsible for the dunking.

"Don't worry, Harry," said Robert, as they followed Hagrid over to the tank, "I'll own up to  
Professor McGonagall, if Malfoy decides to make any trouble over this."

Harry almost didn't mind taking the blame; even a detention was worth it, to see Malfoy being  
chucked into the lake.

Hagrid's tank was large, and full of gleaming fish, swimming restlessly to and fro. Contrary to  
what Harry had expected, they looked almost exactly like goldfish, except that they were  
multicoloured, in shifting hues of rose and green and gold, their shining scales catching the dull  
December light and reflecting it.

"Why, but they're beautiful!" exclaimed Hermione, looking at them in amazement. She went  
over to the side of the tank, and leaned over to get a better look.

Dean looked warningly at her.

"Don't judge too quickly, Hermione," he said, casting a surly glance at the fish, "we thought so  
as well, in the beginning."

Hagrid brought one of the boxes to the side of the tank. Hermione, peeping inside it, drew  
back in revulsion. Harry, peering in, saw that it was full of squirming, squishy-looking worms.

"Yeh feed 'em like _this_," said Hagrid, happily. He scooped up a handful of the worms - Pixie  
went pale, and shivered - and stuck his hand out, over the surface of the water.

The multicoloured fish, sensing that food was nearby, all came swimming toward him. Harry,  
Ron and Hermione stood by, watching tensely.

It happened very fast. One second the fish were in the water; then, in a flash, four of them leapt  
out, and they were not smooth and gleaming any more. With a pop! they transformed into scrawny,  
spine-covered creatures, their bodies rough and rocklike in texture, with bulging eyes and jagged  
teeth protruding from their mouths. They lunged at Hagrid's hands, and engulfed not only the worms,  
but his fingers as well. They hung there, holding on grimly, like small and determined bulldogs.

Pixie gave an exclamation of disgust and turned away. Hagrid, who was wearing gloves of  
dragon-hide, beamed at Harry and the others. Shaking his hand vigorously, he managed to  
dislodge the fish, sending them hurtling back into the water. They hit it with a sharp splash,  
and immediately became gleaming and beautiful again.

"See?" said Hagrid, looking at them fondly. "Nothin' to it."

"But, Hagrid," protested Ron, "why can't we just drop the worms into the water?"

"Ah, that's wha' the others said, too, bu' it won' work," said Hagrid, looking earnestly at him.  
"The li'l blighters only eat live prey, an' once yeh drop the worms into the water, they drown,  
and the fish refuse ter touch 'em."

He took out a pile of dragonhide gloves from a sack and began distributing them to the students,  
who took them most unenthusiastically.

"Eurgh, Hagrid," said Lavendar, closing her eyes and taking a handful of the worms, "Can't we  
feed them something else instead?"

Hagrid began to explain in detail that the fish had very selective appetites, and would only  
consume this particular species of worm. Lavendar stuck her hand out over the water, but  
the minute the fish jumped out, she squealed in fright and dropped the worms. They sank,  
lifeless, to the floor of the tank, and the multicoloured fish turned away from them in disgust.

Parvati and Pixie put their gloves on and came forward, steeling themselves. Harry had the  
impression that they were even more afraid of the worms than the fish.

"I think I'm going to pass out," said Pixie faintly, shuddering and averting her eyes as she felt  
the worms squirming through the dragonhide. Harry, Ron and Hermione, seeing Hagrid looking  
expectantly at them, also pulled their gloves on, and took up handfuls of worms.

"It can't be that bad," muttered Ron, as they leaned over the side of the tank. "It didn't seem to  
hurt Hagrid."

Harry was about to reply, when two fish jumped out and fastened their jaws onto his fingers.  
The pain was excruciating. He let out a yell, and desperately shook his hand until the fish gave  
up and let go. The pain disappeared at once. He pulled the glove off, and glared at his fingers.  
There wasn't even the slightest mark on them.

Ron was grimacing and banging his hand against the side of the tank, until his Piranhas finally fell  
off. Hagrid came over and peered anxiously into the water to see if the fish were hurt.

"Blimey, Hagrid," groaned Ron, leaning against the tank and pulling off his glove, "trying to kill us."

Hagrid chuckled.

"Takes some gettin' us'd ter, that's all," he said, looking affectionately at the Piranhas, "nothin' like  
a li'l nip ter get yeh goin' for the day."

The Slytherins, casting dirty looks at Hagrid, gathered around the opposite end of the tank where  
the second box of worms had been placed. Shan and Chee Chong, looking resigned, pulled on  
their gloves and came forward. Robert, however, was looking thoughtfully at the worms.

"Wait a minute," he said to them. He took his wand out, and pointing it at the worms, muttered  
something. A fist-sized ball of worms flew up in the air and sailed over to the tank. It then hovered  
there, over the water. Three Piranhas leapt out, tore several worms out of the ball, and engulfing  
them, dived back into the water again.

"Hey, neat!" exclaimed Seamus, looking impressed. The entire class, seeing this, surged forward  
and surrounded Robert.

"It's a Hover Charm," explained Robert, looking up at the wall of Gryffindors and Slytherins around  
him, "You have to fix an image in your mind of how many worms you want to pull out, or you'll pull  
the entire boxful out. And the only incantation I know is in Chinese."

"Chinese? No problem!" said Dean, looking eager. "What is it?"

Robert cleared his throat, and said something that sounded like '_piao fú fei xiáng_!'

Shan and the other Tian-Long students were already by the tank, hovering small balls of worms  
over the surface of the water.

The Hogwarts students tried the incantation, but the worms didn't rise an inch.

"You have to pronounce it correctly," said Robert seriously, "it's '_xiáng_', not '_shàng'_."

Hagrid was watching the Tian-Long students, looking rather crestfallen.

"It seems like cheatin', somehow," he said.

Try as they might, the British students couldn't get the pronunciation and the intonation right. The  
Slytherins soon gave up in disgust and returned to their end of the tank, grumbling among themselves.  
Ron, hoping to impress Pixie, said, "Let's try something else!"

He pointed his wand at the worms.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_!" he said.

The entire box flew up in the air and flipped over, tipping the worms out. They rained down  
onto the surrounding area, showering themselves onto the Gryffindors. Parvati and Lavendar  
screamed, and there was a mad scramble to get out of range.

"You stupid git!" roared Dean, pulling a handful of squirming worms out from his collar, "We  
want them to _hover_, not come raining down on us!"

Ron, looking mortified, was plucking worms out of his red hair. The Slytherins were howling  
with laughter, while the Chinese students, who had been out of range of the worms, seemed to  
be trying very hard not to smile. Pixie turned her back on them, but her shoulders were shaking  
slightly.

Hagrid was looking worriedly at his worms. Parvati and Lavendar seemed to be in hysterics,  
and were frantically brushing worms off their clothes and hair.

The Gryffindors spent the next ten minutes de-worming themselves, after which they had to  
collect the worms from the ground and return them back to the box. They then had to brave  
the teeth of the Piranhas for the remainder of the lesson.

"First chance I get, I'm going to look up Hover Charms in the library," Hermione muttered,  
wincing as three Piranhas fastened themselves to her fingers.

"The thing is, they don't leave any marks, and there aren't any lasting effects, so we can't  
report it to Madam Pomfrey," said Seamus gloomily. "Otherwise, we might be able to get  
her to persuade Hagrid to find some other creature."

"I'm going to have nightmares tonight," said Lavendar, shuddering and closing her eyes, as  
she took another handful of worms. "I'll be dreaming my bed's full of worms" She opened  
her eyes, and looked critically at them.

"I think they're dead, anyway," she said in disgust. She went over to Hagrid, and showed them  
to him. "Why don't we just stop for the day?"

The worms did indeed look rather lifeless. They seemed to have stopped squirming, at any rate.  
The ground was cold, and they had been half-frozen in the snow. Hagrid, seeing this, went over  
to the Slytherins' side to borrow some, but their box was almost empty. Not caring whether the  
fish were fed or not, they had simply dropped most of the worms into the water, and the floor  
of their end of the tank was now carpeted with dead worms.

Hagrid reluctantly dismissed the class, assuring them he'd have a new supply of worms for them  
by the next lesson.

"Well, thanks anyway, Ron," said Harry, as they made their way back to the castle. "You got  
us off fifteen minutes early."

"Yeah," said Ron, gloomily. He noticed a stray worm in Hermione's hair, and pulled it out.  
"Saved the day, I did."

Harry found Hermione later that afternoon in the Gryffindor common room, barricaded in a  
corner by several piles of library books.

"Harry," she said at once when she saw him, "can I borrow the Marauder's Map? I want to  
see where Professor Flitwick ismaybe we can persuade him to teach us Hover Charms  
during our next lesson."

The common room, for once, happened to be empty, so Harry brought the Map downstairs  
and handed it to Hermione.

Hermione bent over it, frowning, and then she saw something which drove all thoughts of Hover  
Charms out of her head.

"Look!" she cried, pointing with one shaking finger at something on the Map, "Look who Jeanne's  
with!"

Harry, who was doing his homework at a table nearby, looked up, startled. "Huh? What?  
Who? Snape?"

Hermione seemed almost too excited to speak.

"_Diary of a Wizard in China_!" she said, rather incoherently.

Harry had a sudden vision of a giant diary with two legs sticking out of it, walking next to Jeanne.  
He came over to have a look, but at this moment, the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open, and  
Shan and Robert climbed in. Harry hurriedly took the Map from Hermione, but it was too late;  
they had seen it.

"What's that?" asked Shan, and then, seeing Harry's face, went red.

"It's all right," she said, quickly turning away, "I'll pretend I didn't see anything."

"No!" exclaimed Hermione. "Harry, show it to themthey might know something - I tell you,  
nearly all the English translations in the Tian-Long library were done by him!"

"What?" said Harry, bewildered, "Who?"

"_Septimus Snufflegint_!" said Hermione, taking hold of the Map and bending over it again, "It's  
him! I saw him, together with Jeanne!"

Shan and Robert were standing a short distance away, unsure whether to approach them or not.

"Master Li-Kai?" said Shan, looking mildly surprised. "Is he here?"

Hermione looked at her in astonishment. Harry, examining the Map, saw that Jeanne was walking  
up the marble staircase in the Entrance Hall. Next to her was a small dot marked, "Septimus  
Snufflegint".

"Well, who's he?"

"_I told you_," said Hermione impatiently, "_A Diary of a Wizard in China_! He's the one who wrote  
it!" She turned to Shan, an eager expression on her face. "You called him by another namedoes  
that mean you know him?"

Shan nodded, looking rather puzzled by Hermione's enthusiasm.

"Li-Kai is his Chinese name," she said. "He's a teacher at Tian-Longhe teaches us Western  
Magical Studies."

"A teacher?" Hermione looked surprised. "But - we've never seen any non-Chinese teachers  
there!"

"Master Li is a recluse," Shan explained. "He lives in a small room in the west wing of the palace,  
above the library. He has all his meals there. His classroom is just next to his office, and I don't  
think he ever strays from that area."

Hermione was listening to her, amazed. She checked the Map again.

"I'm going to ask him for an autograph!" she said, and hurried up to her dormitory to get her book.

"But, it's not possible," said Harry.

Shan looked questioningly at him. Robert was now examining the Marauder's Map with great interest.

"That diary was written at the beginning of the century," said Harry. "How can he still be alive? He  
must be really ancient by now."

"He is really old," Shan agreed, "but his mind is still sharp - " She stopped, because Hermione had  
come back with her book, looking rather breathless. Checking the Map, she said, "They're heading  
toward the Astronomy Tower! Let's go!" And she sprinted over to the portrait hole, and climbed out.

The others quickly followed.

"Hermione," said Harry, catching up with her, "How are you going to explain how we know he's  
here? The Map's a secret!"

"We can say Shan spotted him in the Entrance Hall, and told us who he is," panted Hermione.  
She rounded a corner, and collided right into Chee Chong.

"Oh!" "Ouch!"

Hermione had fallen to the floor, while Chee Chong stumbled, Chester clinging onto his shoulder  
in order not to fall off.

Chee Chong steadied himself, then reached a hand out to help Hermione up.

"What is happening?" he asked, looking at all of them, startled.

"Master Li-Kai is here," said Shan, still looking puzzled at Hermione's enthusiasm. "Hermione  
wants to meet him."

Hermione was already hurrying on her way. The others followed, Chee Chong included. As  
they approached the Astronomy Tower, Harry remembered the Imperial scrolls; maybe this  
would be a good time to try having a look at them.

They found Jeanne and Septimus Snufflegint outside a chamber a few doors down from  
Professor Sinistra's office. Septimus Snufflegint was very tall, and slightly stooped. His  
wrinkled face, which sported a short, white beard, did indeed look very old; but his eyes  
were keen and bright. They lacked warmth, though, and Harry, looking at him, felt rather  
chilled. There was no friendliness in that face, and the look that he gave them was both  
intense and searching.

Hermione noticed this as well, and came to a halt, clutching her book uncertainly. Jeanne  
looked surprised to see all of them. Snufflegint said nothing, but stood there staring coldly  
at them. His robes of white silk were Mandarin-style with long, full sleeves and a narrow  
collar, and they looked rather strange on him.

Shan and Chee Chong greeted him in Chinese, and he replied in the same tongue. Harry  
and Hermione looked at each other in surprise. For some reason, it was decidedly odd  
to hear an Englishman speaking what seemed, to them, to be fluent and perfect Chinese.  
Hermione looked impressed. They stood there, listening in fascination as he conversed  
with the Tian-Long students, although they couldn't understand a word. Harry, of course,  
had stopped carrying the Translator with him now that he was back in Hogwarts.

Snufflegint suddenly noticed Harry and Hermione standing by, and swept a fierce and  
brooding glance at them.

"I forget myself!" he said, in his deep voice. "I am back in Britain now, and must use English!"

He stared at them for a moment, before turning to the Tian-Long students again. "As I was  
saying, it is most timely that all of you are here for the exchange programme. I need someone  
to assist me in the restoration and translation of several scrolls. Someone who knows old  
Chinese script, and is good in Astronomy."

Shan darted a look at Robert, and then at Harry. Harry knew what she was thinking; this  
was the ideal chance for them to find out whether Liu Pei's scroll was among the Imperial  
scrolls.

Robert, seeing that Shan was going to volunteer him, immediately said, "Chee Chong."

Snufflegint turned his cold stare on Chee Chong.

"Yes, it is true I rike Astronomy," said Chee Chong, looking abashed, "but I am not familiar  
with lestoring old scrolls."

"A minor problem," said Snufflegint, looking at him in a calculating manner, "I can easily  
teach you!"

He turned to Jeanne.

"I mentioned, young woman, that I hope you will join me later for tea," he said, looking at  
her with a curious gleam in his eyes, "I have something to show you which you may be  
most interested in."

Jeanne seemed rather taken aback.

"But of course," she said, hesitantly, "I don't see why not." She glanced at her watch. "I  
have a few chores to finish first, but I should be free after four."

"Splendid," said Snufflegint gruffly. He turned to Chee Chong. "If you are free now, laddie,  
I can brief you on what you have to do."

Chee Chong nodded nervously, and Snufflegint, grasping him firmly by the shoulder, as if  
he was afraid he would run away, began leading him into the chamber.

Jeanne, however, had noticed Hermione's hopeful expression, and the book she was  
holding.

"Professor Snufflegint," she said, "I believe this young lady wants to ask you something."

Professor Snufflegint paused, and stared coldly at Hermione.

"Ifif you would autograph my book, sir," said Hermione rather tremulously, holding the  
book out.

Snufflegint took a Chinese seal from his pocket, and stamped the book without a word.  
He then gave it back to Hermione, and looked at Jeanne.

"Four o'clock, then," he said. "I shall be honoured to have you grace my table. As you  
might know," - glancing at the book Hermione was holding - "I have always found you  
shape-shifters most - _interesting_."

Jeanne looked startled, but nodded. Snufflegint, with another cold stare at all of them,  
turned and grimly steered Chee Chong, who looked like a trapped animal, into the chamber.

They stood watching as the chamber door swung shut, and then Hermione turned to Jeanne.

"What is he doing here?" she asked curiously. "Have you met him before?"

Jeanne nodded in answer to the second question. "I met him briefly, while we were at  
Tian-Long. Professor Sinistra says the scrolls Lady Wen-Li has borrowed for her need  
to be restored and translated before she can study them, and since she isn't familiar with  
restoration and doesn't know Chinese, Professor Snufflegint has volunteered to do it for  
her."

Harry looked at the door of the chamber, which was now shut.

"He looks like a pretty cold fish," he said. "Hermione, I can't think why you're so keen to  
get his autograph."

"Oh, he's not like that in the book at all," said Hermione earnestly, "You should read how  
he writesit's so beautifulhe paints pictures in your mind, you can imagine you're there  
with him."

Jeanne looked thoughtfully at her.

"It's the first time Septimus has come back to Britain in a long while," she said. "Professor  
Dumbledore told me he used to teach here at Hogwarts; he was Dumbledore's teacher.  
But he always had a great fascination for Chinain those days, it was a mysterious land,  
and little was known about it."

"Yes, I know," said Hermione, looking sentimentally at her book, "He mentioned that in  
here."

Harry looked surprised. "He taught here?"

Jeanne nodded.

"Septimus was Astronomy Master when Dumbledore was a student," she said. "But he  
always had a great yearning to travel to China. One day he finally gave in to his desire,  
and sent in his resignation. He's travelled the length and breadth of the country since, and  
his love affair with China has been a long one. He found, after many years, though, that he  
still didn't fit in there, yet when he came back to England he found he no longer belonged  
here, either."

She fell silent, looking at the chamber door, as if thinking about something.

"How did he end up at Tian-Long?" asked Harry.

"Eventually, he returned to China," she said, looking gravely at him. "Dumbledore says  
that he has always been a loner. Perhaps he realised that he would never fit in anywhere,  
anyway, no matter where he went. Or perhaps it was because he still felt a stranger there  
that the attraction remainedsometimes we always desire what seems to be unattainable.  
When Lady Wen-Li started her school, she wanted to include Western Magic as a subject  
in the curriculum, and she also wanted someone to translate the numerous Chinese texts in  
her library into English, so that east and west could gradually come to understand one another.  
That was her vision. So, she invited Septimus to join the school."

"I think I've seen him before, now," said Hermione slowly. "I remember a tall figure in white,  
going out of the library one day."

Jeanne smiled at her, then glanced at her watch.

"I'd better be going," she said. "I must finish those chores, or I won't be able to make it for tea."

She glanced at Shan, who was keeping silent and staring at the floor, then smiled at Robert  
who was looking solemnly at her. With a nod at Harry and Hermione, she went over to the  
nearest window, transformed into a hawk, and flew out.

- 


	18. The Door That Disappeared

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------  


**Chapter XVIII**

**_The Door That Disappeared_**

  
_"You'll see me there," said the Cat, and vanished.  
Alice was not much surprised at this, she was   
getting so used to queer things happening._

_~ Lewis Carroll, "Alice in Wonderland"  
_

**T**he minute Jeanne disappeared, Shan turned to Robert.

"Robert, why'd you do that?" she said reproachfully. "We had a golden opportunity to  
look at the scrolls, and you threw it away. And you sabotaged poor Chongnow he'll  
have extra work to do, in addition to our assignments, and you _know_ he's a slow student."

Robert seemed quite unrepentant.

"He loves Astronomy, Shan," he said mildly. "He wanted to do it. And he's the only one  
among us who's studied ancient Chinese script. If you want to find out what's in the scrolls,  
we'd have to ask him to help us, anyway."

Shan was not appeased.

"You know you can easily pick up ancient script, like you pick up everything else."

Robert, seeing how cross she was, looked amused.

"Chee Chong is discreet," he said. "I don't see why we can't let him in on the secret."

"Shan, I'm sure we don't mind Chee Chong knowing," said Hermione, taking Robert's side.  
"Right, Harry?" She looked meaningfully at Harry.

"Er - yeah," said Harry. If it had been Pixie they were talking about, he would have objected,  
but he didn't really mind telling Chee Chong about Liu Pei's scroll.

Shan still looked rather cross as they started back down the Tower. She fell behind with Harry,  
letting Hermione and Robert go in front. Robert took several new books out of his bag, and  
showed them to Hermione.

"He's not really interested in the scrolls," she grumbled, looking at the two in front. Harry  
saw that Robert had bought a new comic book, _Gilbert the Grindylow_. "He just wants  
to have more time to read all his books."

On their way back to the common room, they passed through a corridor lined with rooms  
used mostly for stores, including the storeroom that Harry had discovered two years ago,  
the night he'd encountered a werewolf in the Forbidden Forest. He'd never gone back since  
then, or used the secret passageway that led to the entrance behind the ivy, but every time  
he happened to pass this way he would always idly glance at the storeroom, and wonder  
if Jeanne and Lupin still used the passageway to enter the grounds, every full moon.

Today, however, Harry noticed something rather strange. When they reached the place  
where the storeroom door usually was, it wasn't there. He looked up and down the corridor.  
It sometimes shifted itself to another part of the corridor, as so many of the doors and  
windows in Hogwarts did, but this time, it seemed to have vanished altogether.

He stopped for a moment, and Shan, next to him, also came to a halt. "What's the matter?"

Harry looked up and down the corridor again, then continued after Hermione and Robert.

"Nothing, really," he said, still scanning the walls. "I thought there was a storeroom along this  
corridor, but the door seems to have disappeared."

"It'll probably turn up another day," said Shan, glancing around as well. "I still can't get used  
to the way everything keeps moving, around here."

She fell silent, after that. Harry shot a glance at her. Since that day by the lake, she had never  
spoken about her mother's death, and he wondered whether she had gotten over it. When  
the others were around, she always seemed cheerful, but when she was alone with him or  
with Robert he would sometimes catch a rather hopeless expression in her eyes, or a  
despairing look on her face. He also noticed that although she was more outgoing than  
Robert, she seemed to rely on him for a lot of things, like schoolwork, as if she had no  
confidence in completing anything by herself.

They found Ron in the common room and told him what had happened. He had been busy  
with Pixie earlier, but she had now disappeared somewhere with Parvati and Lavendar.  
Ron had got the hint that Harry wasn't very keen about letting Pixie know about Liu Pei's  
scroll, and although he was a bit hurt, he didn't really mind not telling her, since she seemed  
totally disinterested in the matter anyway.

Chee Chong did not appear until dinnertime, and since the rest of the class was there, they  
couldn't mention Liu Pei's scroll. They could, however, ask him what Snufflegint had asked  
him to do.

"There are many scrolls there," he said, "More than fifty. They are all very old and dirty. He  
taught me to lemove the dirt with a special blush; you must move the blush in small fricks, like  
this," - he made a flicking motion with his hand - "but not too hard, or you will damage the  
parchment."

He poked his fork into a potato, looking tired.

"What is on the scrolls?" asked Shan, trying not to look too interested.

"Most of them, there is too much dirt to see," said Chee Chong, "but some are better. Those  
I can read look rike an old copy of the _Chou Pei Suan Ching_."

"The what?" said Harry, startled.

"The _Chou Pei Suan Ching_," repeated Chee Chong, looking earnestly at him. "It is an old  
Chinese astronomical manual."

Ron looked impressed.

"What does it mean, in English?" he asked.

Chee Chong didn't know the English translation. He looked at Shan and Robert for help.

Robert, seeing that they were now looking at him, said, "_The Arithmetical Classic of the  
Gnomon and the Circular Paths of Heaven_."

"Huh?" said Ron, looking totally lost.

Harry, glancing at Hermione, was relieved to see that even _she_ was looking blank.

"It's a very old text," said Robert. "But I don't know why Professor Sinistra would want this  
particular copy. We have a good one in the Tian-Long library."

"She does not want it," said Chee Chong, looking mournful. "I heard her talking to Master  
Li-Kai. She is only intelested in ten of those scrolls, which contain an account of the  
deveropment of the Lunar Mansions. But Master Li-Kai, he said we might as well lestore  
all the scrolls for the Emperor."

"How long does it take to restore one scroll?" asked Shan, looking concerned.

"Very long," said Chee Chong, "I do not know how I can do all this and my assignments as  
well."

Shan gave Robert a look as if to say, "I told you so!"

"What are Lunar Mansions?" asked Hermione.

"The Chinese equivalent of the Zodiac," said Robert. "The ancient Chinese mapped the  
stars along the Celestial Equator into twenty-eight constellations, not twelve. Each is called  
a Lunar Mansion." He glanced at Lavendar and Seamus who were sitting nearby, and added,  
"It's quite, er, _common knowledge_."

Harry and Ron looked disappointed; they knew what Robert was trying to say. The scrolls  
mentioned so far weren't important enough for someone to have stolen them from the Imperial  
Archives.

Harry decided to have one more shot.

"The scrolls are usually wrapped in silk, aren't they?" he said casually. "What's the colour of the  
silk?"

Chee Chong looked surprised at the question. Shan hurriedly said, "Probably yellow; that's  
usually the colour of the Emperor. Right, Chong?"

"No," said Chee Chong, still looking puzzled, "They are wrapped in brue silk."

Harry looked at Shan. So, he had been wrong - Liu Pei's scroll probably wasn't among those  
Imperial scrolls. They had been barking up the wrong tree.

"It doesn't mean anything," said Shan, when dinner was over and they were going back to the  
common room. "The thief could have removed the yellow silk and wrapped the scroll in blue  
instead."

"Well, yeah," said Harry, feeling slightly disheartened, "But we're probably just wasting our time  
anyway. Maybe Liu Pei's scroll isn't important after all. Maybe he just happened to pick it up  
somewhere, and was looking at it to kill time."

"But it was an _Imperial_ scroll," pointed out Shan. "And somebody thought it important enough  
to steal."

"Not all the scrolls in the Imperial Archives contain significant information, Shan," said Robert,  
who had been listening. "A lot just have historical value."

"Right," agreed Harry gloomily. "And I don't even know if that figure in black took it or not. For  
all we know, the wind blew it out the window, or something."

They had their first Divination exchange class the next day. Shan and the others looked intrigued  
when they discovered that they had to climb a ladder to get up to Professor Trelawney's room.

"Ooo, this is so quaint, Ronniekins," said Pixie, when she saw the classroom with its chintz  
armchairs and pouffes. "So much more interesting than our classroom at Tian-Long!"

Hermione, who disliked Divination in general and Professor Trelawney in particular, was looking  
unenthusiastic. Professor Trelawney did not seem to be around, so they settled themselves in the  
armchairs and pouffes to wait. Parvati and Lavendar had, of course, willingly volunteered to attend  
all the Divination classes, but to Harry's surprise, both Seamus and Dean turned up for the first  
class as well.

"We've got a bet on," whispered Seamus, so that Lavendar wouldn't hear. "This can be considered  
a new class, and we're betting that Trelawney will predict one of the Chinese students is going to die."

"Not likely," said Ron. "Harry's in this class. And so far she's reserved all her fatalistic predictions  
for him."

"Who're you betting on?" asked Harry.

Dean and Seamus both spoke at the same time.

"Chee Chong." "Robert."

Robert and Shan, who were sitting nearby, heard Robert's name being mentioned, and looked inquiringly  
at them.

Hermione, looking disapproving as she always did when speaking about Professor Trelawney, explained  
that their Divination teacher's favourite way of greeting a new class was to predict someone's death.

"Hm," said Shan, not looking impressed. She disliked Divination, and usually spent most of Madam Tang's  
classes playing with LeafSong on the sly.

A slight movement to Harry's left caught his eye, and he saw that Professor Trelawney had appeared in  
her habitual silent, unnerving way. Adjusting her gauzy, spangled shawl, her innumerable chains and beads  
hanging around her spindly neck, she glided over to her winged armchair by the fire, and seated herself in it.

"Welcome," she said dreamily, surveying the Tian-Long students in turn with her enormous eyes, "I bid  
our young friends from the Middle Kingdom a warm welcome."

The Chinese students, who had been looking at her in fascination, didn't seem to know what to say to  
this. Robert was looking deadpan, Shan polite, and Chee Chong respectful. Pixie giggled nervously,  
while Fatty was looking slightly sceptical. Fatty had lost some faith in Divination ever since Madam  
Tang had failed to predict the failure of his father's business, although he continued to assure Harry,  
to the latter's chagrin, that he still believed Harry would one day bring him good luck.

"Doubtless you have been thoroughly schooled in the ancient techniques of Chinese Divination,"  
Professor Trelawney continued dreamily. "I now have the privilege of revealing the knowledge of  
the Diviners of the western world to you." She suddenly shot a look at Fatty. "Tell me, boy, are  
your business projects doing well?"

Fatty scowled and said, "tolerably."

"One should not be too certain, my dear," said Professor Trelawney solemnly. She glanced at  
Parvati and Lavendar, who were listening to her breathlessly.

"The hours Fate has entrusted to us to share are few," she went on, turning back to the Chinese  
students again, "And so there are many secrets of western Divination that I will not be able to  
impart to you. Today, and for the next few weeks, we shall apply ourselves to the reading of  
tea-leaves. Then, after Christmas, we shall spend a fortnight contemplating the movements of  
the stars and planets. The final weeks shall be devoted to crystal-gazing."

She then instructed them to pair up, as Harry and the others had in their third year, and filled  
their teacups for them.

Seamus and Dean seated themselves between Fatty and Chee Chong, who were together,  
and Shan and Robert. Harry found himself with Hermione, because Ron had teamed up with  
Pixie. Seating themselves next to Robert's table, he heard Shan whispering, "This is such a  
waste of time!"

Professor Trelawney, her beads glittering in the firelight, moved from table to table, listening  
to see if they were interpreting their tea-leaves properly. Finally, she came over to Chee  
Chong's table. Seamus and Dean watched in excitement as she picked up Chee Chong's  
teacup, which Fatty had been examining.

"Let me see" she murmured, looking critically at the cup, "The sparrow an illness in  
the family," - turning the teacup - "Oh!" she started, and gave a shrill cry.

Dean, who had bet on Chee Chong, was leaning forward and listening eagerly.

Professor Trelawney turned to gaze at Chee Chong, a mournful expression in her eyes. "My  
poor boyI am distressed, to have to break the news to you..."

Harry and Hermione were also watching with interest.

"Poverty, my dear," said Professor Trelawney, turning the teacup around in her thin hands  
and staring sorrowfully at it, "You have the shattered bowlextreme povertyyes, the  
bowl is brokenhunger till the end of your days"

Chee Chong looked alarmed, while Harry felt indignant. It seemed cruel, however  
unintentional, to remind Chee Chong that his family's farm had been destroyed. Seamus  
grinned at Dean, who was now sitting back in his chair, looking disappointed.

Professor Trelawney moved over to Harry and Hermione. She did not stay with them  
long, because Hermione persisted in wearing a scornful expression on her face. Moreover,  
Professor Trelawney had been feeling annoyed with Harry lately, having noticed that  
neither he nor Ron seemed to be taking her classes very seriously. Harry, seeing her  
look around the room, had a feeling that she was searching for another victim; her eye  
fell on Robert.

Robert, who had been quietly reading _Gilbert the Grindylow_ under the table, quickly  
hid it when he saw Professor Trelawney approaching. Seamus, pretending to examine  
Dean's teacup, winked at Dean and mouthed the word "Ten Galleons" at him.

Professor Trelawney picked up Robert's teacup, which Shan had been looking at, and  
turned it around. She was so absorbed that she hardly noticed Seamus and Dean  
coming over; they were peering over her shoulder, holding their breath.

"The dragonone of your family is in danger, my child"

Harry and Hermione, wondering if Seamus would win his bet, had also come over.

"A full moona great surprise lies in store for you"

Ron and the others, wondering why they were crowding around Professor Trelawney,  
had now come over as well.

Professor Trelawney's huge eyes suddenly widened, and she gave a soft, gasping  
scream. Seamus, seeing this, leaned forward and looked anxiously at her.

"Ohmy dear boymy poor childit cannot be"

"What, Professor?" said Seamus, looking at her intently, "What is it?"

Professor Trelawney was looking at Robert, her eyes brimming with tears.

"My poor, dear childmy heart bleeds for youI should spare you the fell  
news"

"Oh," said Parvati, glancing at the cup, "Oh, Professor, you don't mean - "

"My dear," said Professor Trelawney, gazing at Robert, her voice throbbing with  
emotion, "My poor, dear boy, I must break the news to you. My dear, you have  
the Grim!"

"Yes!" said Seamus loudly, punching a fist in the air. Then, realising what he'd done,  
he went extremely red, as the rest of the class turned to look at him.

There was an uncomfortable silence as Professor Trelawney slowly turned her  
enormous eyes on Seamus.

"My dear boy," she said at length, looking severely at him, "I need not say, as I  
think we all know, that it is extremely unfeeling of you, to say the least, to rejoice  
in the ill-fate of one of your fellow students."

Parvati and Lavendar were looking in a shocked and horrified manner at Seamus,  
who was still rather red. Dean tried to suppress a snort of laughter.

Professor Trelawney turned back to Robert.

"My child," she said, "It rends my heart to be the one to inform youbut we must  
be bravelife is such, often so, that our destiny is not ours to choose."

Robert looked up at her, his glasses reflecting the surroundings. Seeing that Professor  
Trelawney expected him to reply, he searched his mind for an appropriate response.

"Yes, ma'am," he said.

Professor Trelawney frowned slightly.

"My dear," she said, "Perhaps, though I fail to see how it can be, the import of what I  
have said seems to have been lost on you. My dear, you have the Grim! The giant dog,  
the midnight shadow, that haunts the graves of the dead! My dear, it is an omen - the  
omen of death!"

Robert gave a small sigh, hardly noticeable, and flicked a glance at Shan who, always  
protective of her cousin, was looking disapprovingly at Professor Trelawney. Seeing  
that Professor Trelawney was looking expectantly at him, he tried to think of something  
more interesting to say, but couldn't.

"Yes, ma'am," he said again. Then, when she continued to look at him, added mildly, "As  
you say, ma'am."

Dean and Seamus sniggered, then hurriedly turned it into a cough and a sneeze. Professor  
Trelawney began to look rather impatient.

"My boy," she said, drawing herself up slightly and looking severely at Robert, "You do  
not realise the significance of this omen! The Grim, the ghostlike canine that prowls the  
tombs of those who have passed on, usually strikes fear into those with the awareness of  
its import! Death approaches, my child! Your death! The Grim is an omen of death, of -"

Harry could see that Shan had had quite enough of Professor Trelawney, and braced  
himself as she opened her mouth to say something in Robert's defence. Hermione, however,  
beat her to it.

"That's enough!"

Everyone turned to look at her.

Hermione was looking very cross, and her face was rather red.

"You've said enough!" she said impatiently. "We got it the first time around! You don't have  
to keep hammering it in, as if we have no brains of our own!"

Professor Trelawney looked highly affronted. Parvati and Lavendar, ever willing to champion  
their favourite teacher, hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

"Ignore her, Professor," said Parvati, looking darkly at Hermione. "We understand the  
importance of what you said."

"Professor, we appreciate your efforts," said Lavendar, looking anxious, "someone had to  
be burdened with the unwelcome task of breaking the news to Robert; I'm sure he agrees  
with me." She looked at Robert, who merely looked expressionlessly back at her.

Hermione gathered up her things.

"I've had enough for today," she said flatly. With a scornful glance at Professor Trelawney,  
she left the classroom.

Professor Trelawney chose to ignore this, and somewhat mollified by Parvati and Lavendar's  
loyalty, dismissed the class in a dignified manner. Dean, scowling, took ten Galleons out of his  
wallet and gave them to Seamus. Ron, leaving together with Harry and Pixie, was frowning.

"What's up?" said Harry.

"Hermione," said Ron, looking highly displeased, "Since when is she so defensive of Robert?  
She's been awfully chummy with him lately. Know what, Harry - I think she fancies him!"

Pixie giggled. Harry looked startled.

"Robert?" he said. "Come off it, Ron. It's just Trelawney you know Hermione doesn't like  
her."

Ron was still frowning.

"She likes him," he insisted. "I've seen her looking at him with a funny expression on her face.  
And she grabs every chance that she can get, to discuss books with him!"

Pixie giggled again.

"Well, what about it, Ronniekins," she said, dimpling, "It'd be a good thing, wouldn't it? Then  
she might get him away from Shan, and give Harry a chance!"

Ron did not reply, but continued to scowl darkly. Harry, privately wishing someone would  
throttle Pixie, fell behind, and saw Shan and Robert smiling at some joke.

"What's so funny?" he asked, hoping they hadn't overheard.

Shan gave him a broad grin.

"Our teacups," she said, pushing her glasses up her nose and shaking slightly with mirth, "We  
forgot that we were supposed to swap them. That was _my_ teacup that Professor Trelawney  
was looking at, all the time."

Later that day, Harry happened to pass through the Stores corridor again, and noticed that  
the storeroom door was still missing. He felt slightly intrigued. In the two years since he'd  
discovered the hidden passageway, the door had always been there, every time he'd  
passed this way. The most it did was shift up and down the corridor a bit. Moreover,  
there was quite a large area of wall between two of the doors, as if they were leaving  
ample room for the storeroom door to come back.

However, it wasn't peculiar for a door in Hogwarts to disappear, so he decided not to  
make too much of it. He was just turning the corner at the end of the corridor when he  
heard faint footsteps, and looking back, saw that Dumbledore had entered from the  
other end.

Harry continued round the corner, but then, something made him stop. He could hear  
Dumbledore's footsteps coming down the corridor. Harry was just estimating that he  
was about halfway down the corridor, when the footsteps stopped. After a few moments,  
the sound of a door opening and closing could be heard.

Harry went back to the corner and looked round it. The corridor was now empty. He  
stood there for a moment, then continued making his way back to the common room.  
It didn't mean anything; Dumbledore had probably gone into one of the other rooms.

"But the rooms along that corridor are mostly for stores," thought Harry. "There aren't  
any teachers' offices or classrooms there. Why should Dumbledore be inspecting the  
stores?"

On an impulse, he turned and started off in the direction of the Entrance Hall instead.  
Leaving the castle and entering the grounds, he headed for the part of the castle where  
the ivy had been growing. It was winter now, and the ivy had lost all its leaves, exposing  
the wall behind. The door of the passageway was not visible. Harry felt sure it was still  
there, and that one just needed the right incantation to make it appear. He looked up to  
see if the storeroom window was there, but it wasn't. It, too, had disappeared.

He stared at the section of blank wall where the window was supposed to be. Had it  
shifted itself elsewhere? Feeling curious, he turned and made his way back to the  
Gryffindor common room and up to his dormitory, and took the Marauder's Map out.  
He wanted to see which room Dumbledore had gone into.

To his surprise, the Map showed that Dumbledore wasn't in any of the rooms along that  
particular corridor.

He searched through the whole Map, thinking Dumbledore might have left by now and  
gone to some other part of the castle, but he couldn't find him anywhere.

He looked at the corridor again, and blinked. A small dot labelled 'Albus Dumbledore'  
had suddenly appeared, in the exact spot Harry remembered the storeroom to be. The  
dot then moved out of the storeroom and down the corridor, and back to Dumbledore's  
office.

Harry felt rather excited. What did this mean? Was the storeroom still there? Why had  
Dumbledore not shown up on the Map? He couldn't have Apparated. Had he opened  
another Vortex, like the one that had brought Harry to Kamchatka?

He looked at the Map again, and by chance, something else happened to catch his eye.

Jeanne and Professor Snufflegint were in the school grounds, in a place far from the  
castle that Harry had never ventured to before. It was on the other side of the lake,  
at the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest.

He watched them curiously for a while, wondering what they were doing there. He  
thought that Jeanne might be showing Snufflegint round the grounds, but they were  
staying in the same spot and not going anywhere. After about ten minutes he grew  
tired of watching them, and rolled the Map up and placed it back in his trunk.

He wondered again about Dumbledore and the elusive storeroom. Dumbledore doesn't  
need to go to the storeroom to open the Vortex, thought Harry. Perhaps he had Portkeyed  
somewhere, and the Portkey was in the storeroom. That seemed more likely. But where  
had he gone? Wherever it had been, Dumbledore hadn't spent very much time there.

He spent the rest of the day wondering about it, but couldn't come up with anything. He  
thought of putting his Cloak on that night and going to the corridor to snoop around, but  
decided against it.

"It's none of my business, anyway," he said to himself, as he lay in bed with Ping at his feet.  
"And Dumbledore won't be pleased if he were to catch me poking my nose into his affairs."

Having decided this, he turned over and closed his eyes, and eventually fell asleep.

- 


	19. The Secret of the Storeroom

To those who reviewed, thanks for the reviews, glad you like the story! :o) These next  
2 chapters are sort of interim ones, and then things pick up again during Christmas.

[Silimay, I saw your post in your author profile. There's a Latin dictionary URL which   
I used for my fic, which I've lost at the moment but I'll email it to you if I find it. And I   
still can't access your website.]

~ Kim (gryffindor1970@yahoo.com) :o)

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------

  
**Chapter XIX**

**_The Secret of the Storeroom_**

  
_The darkness pressed around them while  
They clambered down in single file._

"Potter! I want a word with you!"

Harry, who had been bending over his bag, looked up and saw that Professor McGonagall  
was looking sternly at him. Their Transfiguration class had just ended, and all the others  
were busy packing their bags and leaving.

"She doesn't look like that unless something's wrong," he muttered to Ron. "Tell Shan I'll  
be a bit late, will you?"

Ron and Hermione looked sympathetically at him, and then left. Harry gathered his things,  
and went up to the front.

Professor McGonagall was looking displeased.

"Severus Snape says that you sent Draco Malfoy flying into the lake a few days ago,  
Potter," she said. "Not only are you not supposed to use magic between classes, but it is  
extremely thoughtless of you to immerse a fellow student in a freezing lake in the middle  
of winter!"

Harry said nothing. He didn't intend to give Robert away.

"Well, Potter?"

Harry looked at Professor McGonagall. She was looking angrier than ever.

"Yes, Professor."

Sparks seemed to fly from Professor McGonagall's eyes.

"You don't deny, then, Potter, that you did it?"

A quiet voice spoke from the doorway.

"He didn't do it, Professor, _I _did."

Professor McGonagall looked up sharply. Harry turned around.

Robert was standing there. Ron must have told him and Shan, Harry thought. He grimaced  
at Robert, to indicate that he should go away.

Robert, however, was coming over to them. Professor McGonagall seemed rather taken  
aback. She looked down at Robert, who was looking calmly up at her.

"Harry wasn't the one who threw Malfoy in the lake, Professor; I did."

Professor McGonagall glanced swiftly at Harry, then back at Robert again. Harry knew  
what she was thinking. Both she and Dumbledore wanted the exchange programme to be  
a success, and they were reluctant to punish any of the Tian-Long students.

"Very well, Potter," she said crisply, looking at Harry, "you may go. I will have to discuss  
with Lady Wen-Li about how to deal with this."

Harry glanced at Robert, who was looking his usual deadpan self. He hesitated, then  
picked his bag up and left the room.

Shan was waiting outside, together with Ron and Hermione.

"What's happening to Robert?"

"Dunno," said Harry. "McGonagall says she's going to speak to Lady Wen-Li."

Shan looked worried. She seemed about to say something, but stopped because someone  
was coming down the corridor.

It was Jeanne, looking very tired. Harry also thought she looked rather upset, though she  
smiled at them as she passed. She seemed in a hurry, though, and didn't say anything.  
Harry, watching her make her way down the corridor, found himself wondering what she  
and Snufflegint had been doing near the Forbidden Forest.

Professor McGonagall now came marching out of the classroom together with Robert.  
She ignored them, but Robert gave Shan a smile as he went past. He looked smaller than  
ever next to Professor McGonagall, because she was so tall.

"Relax, Shan," said Ron, as the two of them disappeared down the corridor, "I tell you,  
Robert can take care of himself. Look at him, calm as a breeze."

Harry had planned to bring Shan and Robert to have a look at the owlery, but there was  
no point now. Their next class was Charms, so Shan left them and went back to the  
common room while they made their way to the Charms classroom, although it was still  
early. Hermione had managed to persuade Professor Flitwick to give them a lesson on  
Hover Charms.

"Wonder what's happening to Robert," said Hermione, later during the class, as she  
suspended a large dictionary in the air.

"Probably nothing much," said Ron, trying without much success to lift Trevor, Neville's  
toad, off the ground. "He'll probably get a detention, that's all."

Hermione said nothing, but there was a rather odd look in her eyes. Harry, noticing,  
wondered if there was something in what Ron had been saying, after all.

"That Robert's pretty creepy-looking, huh, Hermione?" said Ron casually, obviously  
trying to test her. "I bet, if he doesn't change his glasses one day, no girl'll ever look  
at him."

Hermione looked very angry, and the dictionary hit the floor with a loud thump!

"He's not creepy-looking! He's one of the nicest boys I've ever met!"

She pointed her wand at the dictionary again, but she was so cross that her spell also  
caught tiny Professor Flitwick, who was walking past, and sent him sailing ceilingward.   
Hermione, realising what she was doing, hurriedly lowered him to the floor, apologising   
profusely.

"Quite all right, my dear," he chirped. "I see you've more than mastered it!"

"See what I mean?" Ron muttered to Harry, as Hermione, frowning, made the dictionary  
hover a few feet above the ground again, "I tell you, she fancies him!"

Harry wondered why this should bother Ron so much, especially since he was spending  
so much time with Pixie himself.

"And he's such a runt," Ron went on, turning back to Hermione, "I'd like to see which  
girl'd ever want to be with him all of them are probably twice his height!"

The dictionary came falling to the ground again.

"You are so small-minded, Ron," Hermione said angrily. "Any decent girl would like Robert.  
Look how fond Shan is of him!"

"That's because she's his cousin!" said Ron, looking at her with a queer gleam in his eye.  
"She's just nice to him because he can help her with her schoolwork!"

"That's not true!" said Hermione, unconsciously raising her voice. "She's likes him because  
he's nice! You're just jealous of him because he's such a good student and you're not!"

"What d'you mean by that?" said Ron heatedly. "Me, jealous? Why should I be jealous?  
The fellow's starkers anyway, spending half his time talking to that mad Merlion and the  
rest of it reading imbecile comic books!"

Harry, seeing that the rest of the students had stopped Hovering their books and were  
looking curiously at them, decided that things were getting out of hand.

"Drop it, Ron," he said. "You know Robert's all right. He's not odd, just quiet - "

"Yes, he's not odd!" snapped Hermione, getting more and more worked up, "He's a nice  
person! Much nicer than that silly little airhead you're always with!"

"What did you say?" snarled Ron, his face going red, "Don't you call her an airhead! You're  
just - "

"Students! Please!" Flitwick had come over. He pointed his wand at both of them in turn.

"_Tranquillus_!"

Both Ron and Hermione seemed to calm down somewhat. They contented themselves  
with glaring at each other, before resuming with their Hover Charms. Hermione was  
scowling at her dictionary, which was hovering over Ron and looked in imminent danger  
of falling on top of him. Ron was glaring at Trevor, who was still refusing to rise so much  
as an inch in the air.

The two of them refused to speak to each other after that, and Hermione, on reaching  
the Gryffindor common room, settled herself in one of the squashy armchairs, defiantly  
reading a book she had borrowed from Robert.

Shan was in a corner, working on one of her Tian-Long assignments. As usual, she had  
Robert's completed essay next to her, and was occasionally referring to it. Several of the  
Gryffindor first-years, having never seen anyone do calligraphy before, were sitting next  
to her, watching curiously as she wrote her essay in neat, flowing strokes. They leaned  
forward intently as she placed some water on her inkstone, ground a stick of ink against it,  
and dipped her brush in it.

Robert wasn't around, and neither was Chee Chong. Harry guessed that the latter was in  
Snufflegint's chamber, restoring the Imperial scrolls. Fatty was busily talking to someone in  
his crystal globe, while Pixie and Lavendar and Parvati were watching some of the other  
Gryffindors playing with the Pandas.

Ron, who didn't want to be in the same room with Hermione, said grumpily, "Let's go to the  
library."

"OK," said Harry. He went over to Shan and asked her if she wanted to come, but she smiled  
and shook her head.

"I want to keep an eye on Ping and Pong," she said, as a burst of giggles erupted from Parvati  
and Lavendar.

Harry, going up to the dormitory with Ron to keep some of their books away, saw that Ping  
and Pong were greedily scooping honey out of a huge jar.

Ron was still grumbling about Hermione.

"She's so impressed with that Snufflegint as well! Saw him the other day looks like a cold  
clod. One look from him is enough to make your blood freeze!"

Harry, since Ron had brought the subject of Snufflegint up, found himself unrolling the Marauder's  
Map to have a peek at it. He looked at the Forbidden Forest; Jeanne and Snufflegint were there  
again.

Ron was coming over. "I'm ready to gowhat're you looking at?"

Harry showed him.

"Jeanne and Snufflegint," he said. "I saw them in the same place yesterday. Thought she was  
showing him around the grounds, but they just seemed to be staying in the same spot. And  
they're there again, today!"

Ron didn't look too interested. His mind was still on Hermione and Robert, and he said the  
first thing that came into his head.

"Maybe she's having an affair with him."

Harry gave a snort of laughter.

"Right, sure, Ron. The man is so old, he's practically at death's door!"

Ron looked sheepish.

"All right, it's stupid. I just don't trust the fellow, that's all. He gives me the shivers."

Harry, still laughing, took the Map away, and rolled it up.

"C'mon," he said, picking up his bag and grinning at Ron, "let's go to the library."

The library was rather crowded that day, but they managed to find a quiet spot away from  
the other students, and settled themselves there.

Harry started on his Transfiguration homework, but Ron seemed distracted.

"Guess I shouldn't have said all that stuff just now," he said, looking out of the window. "I  
don't really have anything against Robert. OK, so she's right, he's a better student than me."  
He fiddled with the strap of his bag, looking gloomy.

"Hm," said Harry, trying to concentrate on his essay. Ron, seeing a large, thick book on the  
table which some other student must have left behind, pulled it over and began absently riffling  
through its pages. It was a _Who's Who of the Wizarding World, S - Z_.

"Maybe Snufflegint's in here," he said, after a few moments. He searched through the book for  
a while, then stopped at one page, and started reading.

Harry, finishing one sheet of parchment, pushed it aside and glanced at Ron. He seemed quite  
absorbed in the book.

"Found anything interesting?"

Ron read a few more lines, then tore his eyes from the book and looked at Harry.

"Interesting life he's had, this Snufflegint," he said. "He's even joined a Pugilistic Sect before."

Harry was rather startled. "What?"

Ron shoved the book over to Harry. "Have a look."

Harry dragged the book over, and looked curiously at it.

_Snufflegint, Septimus A.  
Born 9th September 1802, Invercarven, Argyll.   
Education : 1813-1819 Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry  
1820-1825 Apprentice, Monadhliath Observatory  
1825-1848 Astronomer, Monadhliath Observatory  
1848-1854 Chief Astronomer, Monadhliadth Observatory  
1855 - 1887 : Master of Astronomy, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_In 1887, Snufflegint left Britain and_

"Skip the beginning," said Ron, who had come over to Harry's side of the table. He pointed  
at a paragraph further down. "Read that!"

_"Not much is known about the years 1940-1952. Snufflegint, on re-entering the Imperial Court in  
1953 and resuming his role as advisor to the Emperor, refused to divulge his whereabouts during  
that period. It is rumoured, however, that he joined the notorious Tomb Sect, one of the Pugilistic  
Sects near Xi-An, whose black-robed and hooded members are known for their skill in Black Magic  
and the Dark Arts."_

Harry stared at the book, unsure what to think. Snufflegint? A Pugilist? Skilled in Black Magic?

"What d'you make of it?" said Ron, looking fascinated. "The guy probably knows Internal  
Magic! Dabbled in the Dark Arts!"

Harry put the book down.

"How can he join a Sect?" he said. "He's not even Chinese!"

Ron shrugged. "Who knows? Anyway, it's just a rumour. Maybe it's not true."

He pulled the book back to his side of the table, and resumed reading.

Harry tried to continue writing, but now he couldn't concentrate. Ron was holding the book  
up and reading, and Harry found himself staring at the call number on the spine of the book.

"There should be a _Who's Who_ with A to D, as well," he said to himself. He got up and went  
to look for it.

He found it. _Who's Who in the Wizarding World, A - K_. He carried it back to the table, and  
opened it.

"What's up?" asked Ron curiously.

Harry had finished looking at all the D pages, but he hadn't found what he'd been looking for.

"Nothing," he mumbled, closing the book in disappointment.

Ron looked at him, puzzled. "Who were you looking for?"

Harry stared at the book for a few moments, feeling rather stupid. Then he looked at Ron and  
said rather reluctantly, "Deorg."

Ron looked startled. "_Deorg_?"

"I know it's dumb," said Harry. "It's justI remember something Snufflegint said to Jeanne - about  
him being very interested in _shape-shifters_. And I haven't seen Deorg's face, but he's tall, and has  
a deep voice, and wears black robes, like the Tomb Sect members do."

Ron remained silent for a few moments, digesting this.

"Are you saying that _Snufflegint_ is Deorg?" he said at last. "But - he can't be. You told me Deorg  
has been in Siberia during the last few years, while Snufflegint's been in Tian-Long, teaching!"

"I know," said Harry. "It's just a wild guess. I'm not saying they're the same person, but maybe  
there's some connection between them."

Ron looked serious.

"You think Snufflegint's out to harm Jeanne?"

"Well - no," said Harry hastily. "I mean, I can't say. OK, I admit I don't really like him, but he  
doesn't seem evil to me. Just that the Map's shown him and Jeanne doing something together in  
the Forbidden Forest two days in a row - kind of weird, isn't it?"

Ron thought about it, then shrugged. "We can just ask Jeanne."

But Harry wasn't going to let Jeanne know that he had been spying on her again. After thinking  
about it for a while, he decided that whatever Jeanne was doing, it was none of his business.  
Maybe Snufflegint just liked watching shape-shifters transform, and she was obliging him. He  
shoved _Who's Who, A - K_ aside, and resolutely bent over his essay again.

Later that evening, both Robert and Chee Chong turned up together in the Great Hall for dinner.

"Professor McGonagall gave me detention," said Robert, in answer to their questions. "I spent  
the afternoon helping Chee Chong restore the scrolls."

"Oh," said Shan, looking relieved. "Did you find anything interesting?" She looked hopeful.

"Lots," said Robert cheerfully, and he and Chee Chong looked at each other and grinned. "The  
way in which the Lunar Mansions came to be developed is quite interesting. I didn't know such  
a detailed description of it existed. It starts off at the beginning of - "

"I didn't mean_ that_," said Shan, crossly. Then, seeing Chee Chong looking rather puzzled, she  
quickly said, "I mean - we already know that the Lunar Mansions thing is there. What I meant  
was, did you find out what the other scrolls contain?"

"Some of them are definitery the _Chou Pei Suan Ching_," said Chee Chong, "but we have not  
lestored the rest. We have been working on the Lunar Mansions first, because Plofessor Sinistra  
wants those."

Shan looked disappointed.

"Master Li-Kai is not preased because I am very slow," added Chee Chong, looking at Robert.  
"He was happy that Yuan-Ming came. He told him that he can come back anytime he wants, and  
continue helping me."

"I'll go," said Robert, seeing Shan looking at him, "since I got him into this. In fact, we're going to  
work on it again after dinner. The Lunar Mansion scrolls are quite interesting."

"Does Professor Snufflegint stay around and supervise you all the time?" Harry asked, casually.

"No," said Chee Chong. "Most of the time, he is in his office, just next to the chamber. But every  
afternoon, flom two to four, he will go out."

"Where?" asked Ron at once.

Chee Chong shrugged. "I do not know."

"What's he doing in his office?" asked Harry.

"I do not know," Chee Chong said again. "He keeps the door shut. And if I ask him anything, he  
will always come out of the office and rock the door behind him."

Harry looked at Shan, and saw that she was looking intrigued. Ron, too, was looking rather excited.  
Was Snufflegint up to something?

"All right, Robert," said Shan, after dinner, as they left the Great Hall and Robert and Chee Chong  
started heading back to the Astronomy Tower, "it's great that you're helping Chong. Now you can  
try finding out what Master Li-Kai is doing inside his office."

Robert didn't look enthusiastic.

"He's probably sleeping," he said. "That's what he does in Tian-Long. He always sits in the library,  
nodding off, when he's doing his translations."

"This is different," said Shan firmly. "Li-Kai is not the type to volunteer to restore old scrolls,  
especially scrolls that only contain common information. He has better things to do. And he  
doesn't leave China easily. I tell you, he's come back to Britain for something."

Robert, seeing her looking so earnest, smiled at her, and then went off with Chee Chong. Shan,  
following as the rest of them made their way back to the common room, quietly asked Harry  
if the missing storeroom door had reappeared.

"No," said Harry, adding, "and the storeroom window, which is usually visible from the grounds,  
is gone as well."

Shan glanced around to make sure no one was listening, then said softly, "last night, I happened  
to pass by the corridor, and I saw something interesting."

Harry looked at her, surprised.

"I transformed into a postal dragon; I wanted to have a look around the castle," she explained.

She glanced at Ron and Pixie, who were in front. "As I was flying through the corridor, I saw  
Professor Dumbledore entering it. So I stopped, just on impulse, and perched myself near the  
ceiling. And then, what do you think I saw him do?"

She looked at Harry, grinning.

"What?" asked Harry, looking at her in suspense.

"He stopped halfway, and took out his wand, and tapped it on the blank wall," said Shan, "And  
a door appeared, and swung open."

She looked at Harry, as if enjoying the effect her words were having on him.

Harry looked impatiently at her.

"And then - ?" he prompted.

"And then, he went in, and the door closed and disappeared again," she said. "After that I waited  
for ten minutes, but he didn't come out, so I left."

Harry felt excited. He mused over this news for a while, then asked, "What did Dumbledore say  
to make the door open?"

Shan shook her head.

"I couldn't hear." She looked at him, and seemed to read his mind. "If you're going to look for it  
tonight, I'm coming along."

Harry hesitated. The Invisibility Cloak wasn't large enough for four, and he didn't want to leave  
either Ron or Hermione out. He knew Hermione might not want to go anyway - it would be  
breaking rules, and trying to find an invisible storeroom door would seem a waste of time to  
her. But she was good at Charms, and the most likely of all of them to be able to figure out  
how to get the door open.

However, he had Shan to thank for this information, and besides she would know which part  
of the wall Dumbledore had tapped with his wand. In the end, much as he hated to, he decided  
he'd have to leave Ron out. He and Hermione were still not speaking to each other anyway.

So he told Hermione about the door. She seemed a bit doubtful at first, but seeing that Harry was  
determined to go, finally agreed. They arranged to meet at midnight in the common room, and spent  
the rest of the evening looking up Opening and Unlocking spells in their Charms spellbooks.

When Harry came up to the dormitory, he found Ron already asleep. He waited till Neville and the  
others had gone to bed, and then, as he was about to leave, began to feel guilty. Maybe four people  
would be able to squeeze under the Cloak.

He tried rousing Ron, but Ron refused to wake up. He simply grunted and turned around, and  
began snoring again. Harry, afraid of making too much noise and waking the others, finally gave  
up. As he covered himself with the Invisibility Cloak and moved toward the door, he noticed that  
Robert and Chee Chong's beds were still empty.

The castle seemed very quiet as the three of them made their way to the corridor, their spellbooks  
tucked away in their robes.

It was dark when they arrived; the corridor was not lit. Shan lit her wand, and stopping about  
halfway down the corridor, looked at the wall.

"I think it was here," she said.

Hermione took her spellbook out, and removing the Cloak from her arm, opened it.

"_Adaperio_," she muttered, reading from the book, and tapping the wall with her wand. Nothing  
happened. She tried the next few charms. "_Aperio! Exsolvo! Refringo!_"

The wall stayed as blank as ever.

"Let me try," whispered Shan, when Hermione had exhausted all the known charms. She  
extinguished her wand, and began tapping the wall with it, muttering incantations in Chinese.

After a while, she couldn't think of any more. They looked at each other.

"We should have asked Robert to come," said Hermione, at length. "He'd probably know  
what to do."

"Maybe the door's shifted," suggested Shan. She transformed her wand into a wooden staff, and  
moved down the corridor, knocking softly at the wall. After about seven steps, she stopped.

"Did you hear that?" She knocked again. "It sounds hollow!"

She reached out a hand, and feeling around, caught hold of something.

"I think I found the doorknob," she said. She tried turning it, but nothing happened.

Feeling excited, Harry watched as Hermione stuck her hand out from under the Cloak again,  
so that she could see her spellbook, and went through the incantations once more. When she  
had finished, Shan transformed her staff back into a wand, and did likewise.

"It's not working," she said at length, sounding discouraged.

They stared at the wall, feeling rather dejected. Then, Hermione remembered something.

"There's one more," she said. She tapped at the invisible door again. "_Alohomora_!"

For a second, nothing happened. Then, the faint outline of a door appeared in the light of Shan's  
wand. The outline became more distinct, and then the door, with a faint creak, swung open.

Harry heard a slight noise behind him. Heart thumping, he turned around. Chee Chong, with  
Chester on his shoulder, and Robert were standing a few feet away from them. Chee Chong's  
eyes were wide, looking at the door and Hermione's wand, which was sticking out from under  
the Cloak. Robert, however, was looking directly at the three of them.

Shan stepped out from under the Cloak and hissed crossly at them.

"_What are you doing here_?"

"We just finished restoring the Lunar Mansion scrolls," said Robert, looking at the door with  
interest. "We'll go away, if you want us to."

Shan hesitated, and Harry knew she wanted him to come along. He took the Cloak off.

"No need," he said. "We were just saying, a short while ago, that we should have asked you  
to come."

So all five of them entered the room, closing the door behind them and holding their lighted  
wands up in front of them. The storeroom looked just as Harry remembered : empty boxes  
were strewn on the floor - it seemed that Filch never bothered to tidy up here - which was  
carpeted with dust.

"What is it you are looking for?" asked Chee Chong, looking around the room with a  
perplexed expression on his face.

Harry, deciding that Chee Chong was discreet enough to keep the Marauder's Map a  
secret, briefly explained about seeing Dumbledore vanishing and re-appearing.

"We should test each object in the room, then," said Shan, "in case one of them is a Portkey."

They joined hands, so that if one of them disappeared the rest would follow. Harry was at  
one end, holding Chee Chong's hand; he found himself feeling rather disappointed that it  
wasn't Shan who was next to him.

They tried out all the objects in the room, but none seemed to be a Portkey. Harry even  
pushed the wooden chest aside and went down through the trapdoor, and managed to  
open the door behind the ivy; but other than being able to get out into the grounds, nothing  
else was revealed to them.

"Well, maybe I was mistaken," said Harry, feeling rather downcast. Chee Chong looked at  
Chester, who was looking grumpy.

"I must bling Chester back to the dormitory," he said. "He is tired. He does not rike the  
Astronomy Tower - it is too cold for him there."

Harry, feeling that he had been wasting everyone's time, started toward the door. Robert,  
reaching it first, tapped it with his wand, and it flew open at once. They were filing out when  
Chester suddenly leapt off Chee Chong's shoulder, and back into the room.

Chee Chong gave an exclamation of surprise, then went back in after him. Harry, standing  
just outside the door, heard a familiar voice approaching, singing a rude song.

"Peeves is coming," he hissed. "Quick, get back in!"

They hurried back into the room and shut the door. Chester had flown over to the wooden  
chest, and was hopping around on it, evading Chee Chong's attempts to catch him.

"Chester!" said Chee Chong crossly, and then began to scold him in Chinese. Finally, he did  
a Summoning Charm, and Chester, struggling, shot into his hand.

"I do not know what is wrong with him," he said.

Robert was looking thoughtfully at the chest. He went over and tried opening it, but it seemed  
to be locked. He then took his wand out, and pointing it at the chest, said something softly in  
Chinese.

There was a slight, clicking sound, and the lid of the chest swung smoothly open. The five of  
them bent over it with their lighted wands, and looked in. The chest had no bottom. A ladder  
was attached to one end, leading down into pitch darkness.

Shan looked excited. "Let's go down!"

Robert caught hold of her sleeve. "Not so fast, Shan. We don't know what's in there."

He stuck his wand, still lit, into his belt, and then climbing into the chest, went down the ladder  
first. Harry, watching him disappear, followed him. Shan went next, then Chee Chong, and  
Hermione.

"Leave the lid open," Harry heard Robert calling from below.

After a few minutes, they reached the bottom. A round tunnel, hewn in rock, stretched away  
in front of them. Strangely enough, the place did not feel enclosed. The air was fresh, and even  
as they stood there, a breeze blew in through the tunnel, caressing their hands and faces.

"I think the tunnel leads outdoors," said Robert, sounding surprised. He started off down the  
tunnel, the others following.

After less than a minute, Harry thought he saw a faint light in front of them. They rounded a  
bend, and stopped short in surprise.

The tunnel opened out onto the side of a cliff. Dawn was breaking, and the sun was just about  
to rise above the encircling mountains. A fresh, cool breeze was blowing, and in the distance  
they could hear singing : haunting voices were rising and falling, as if welcoming them to a new  
and undiscovered land.

- 


	20. The Timeless Land

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------

  
**Chapter XX**

**_The Timeless Land_**

  
_Here, beside a clear deep lake,  
You live accompanied by clouds;  
Softly through the pine the moon arrives  
To be your own pure-hearted friend.  
Let me leave the world. Let me alight, like you,  
On your western mountain with phoenixes and cranes._

_~ Chang Jian, Tang Dynasty_

**U**sed as he was to unusual things happening in the wizarding world by now, Harry found  
he hadn't been quite prepared to find something like this. The most he had expected was a  
Portkey, or some new secret passageway leading out of the school grounds.

Shan was the first to break the silence.

"It's incredible, isn't it?" she said softly. "Where do you think we are?"

Chee Chong and Robert were looking at the sky.

"Western China," said Robert, in a decided tone of voice.

Harry and Shan gaped at him in amazement.

"What?" said Shan. "Where did you get that from?"

"Look up there," said Robert, pointing at the sky, where a few faint stars were still shining.  
"Chee Chong and I were just looking at the night sky before we left the Tower, and the stars  
were in a different position. We're about six hours further east from Hogwarts now, and we're  
still in the northern hemisphere, but at a lower latitude. In fact I'd say we're somewhere in  
Sinkiang or Tibet, except that it should be winter there now. "

They stared at him for a moment, then looked around again. Harry looked at the mountains;  
they were wreathed in cloud, tall and rugged-looking, and covered with snow. But the air  
around the mountain they were standing on was mild, as if it was spring, and the ground  
around them was carpeted with bright green grass.

"You mean, we're not in Britain any more?" he said. But actually, that makes sense, he thought.  
The Marauder's Map only shows what's happening inside Hogwarts. If Dumbledore came here  
that day, he wouldn't have been in Hogwarts any more.

Chester hopped off Chee Chong's shoulder and into the grass, and began to chirp happily.

"He knew, didn't he?" said Shan, watching him, "He was hopping all over that chest!"

Looking up, they saw that they were near the summit of the mountain, so they climbed up  
and eventually came to level ground. The top of the mountain seemed quite flat, as if  
someone had horizontally sliced its peak off. A meadow lay in front of them, and beyond  
that, a forest of dark green conifers was visible.

They wandered out onto the meadow. There was not a person in sight, but just to be on the  
safe side, they kept their wands out. Harry found himself scanning the surroundings warily, in  
case Dumbledore suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Flowers were blooming all around them. There were long spikes of lemon-yellow flowers,  
with dark blue-green foliage; there were plenty of gentians, and another blue-violet, star-shaped  
flower; there were fields of scarlet and yellow cockscombs. As they came near the forest, they  
found rhododendrons blooming in plenty, of all colours : red, maroon, white, cream and pale pink.

The forest consisted of mostly fir and pine, the trees having a rather unusual appearance : their  
trunks glittered faintly in the morning sun, and looked as if gold dust had been somehow mixed  
in with the bark. The pine and fir needles, too, had a translucent look to them, as if they were  
made of fine jade.

"Look, there is a peach orchard," said Chee Chong, as they walked around the perimeter of  
the forest. He was pointing at a stretch of trees in full bloom in the distance. He had placed  
Chester, who was looking very smug, back on his shoulder.

They could still hear voices singing, from afar, but there was nothing to indicate where the  
music was coming from. As they approached the orchard, Harry thought he could hear  
other voices as well.

"Tortoises!" he exclaimed, as a small, wrinkled face emerged from a shell several feet in  
front of them.

"It's almost as if the orchard in Tian-Long has been transplanted here, except that the trees  
in Tian-Long have stopped blooming," said Shan.

The tortoises did indeed look like the Tian-Long tortoises; they were just as vocal, at any rate,  
and a few were speaking Chinese. These appeared to have been influenced by the ceaseless  
music around them, however, for the majority were singing more than they were talking.

"I'm glad I came, after all," said Hermione, looking at the tortoises in delight. "I was really  
keen to meet some of these."

"This isn't the Tian-Long orchard," said Robert, breaking his customary silence. "These trees  
feel different."

It was true. Harry couldn't quite place it, but as they walked under the trees, there was a timeless  
feel emanating from them, as if they were eternal. However, unlike the conifers, these looked just  
like normal peach trees, and he shrugged the feeling off as fanciful.

"Actually, it's not just the peach trees," said Hermione slowly, looking around. "It's the entire  
place. It just feels as if Time has no meaning here."

"Yes, I feel that, too," agreed Shan.

They left the orchard, and made their way to the edge of the summit, and looked down the  
steep cliffs.

"So, do you think this is where Professor Dumbledore came, the other day?" said Shan,  
stopping to look at a clump of gentians. "It must be his private mountain, where he comes  
to relax. I guess we shouldn't be here."

Chee Chong looked back, rather nervously.

"If it is, I wouldn't have thought he'd have one located in China," remarked Hermione.

"Maybe Lady Wen-Li gave it to him as a plesent," said Chee Chong. "She has done it before. Once,  
she gave the Emperor a frower garden, for his birthday."

They continued on a bit further, the distant singing still in their ears, and then Hermione stopped.

"I think we should go back," she said, glancing at her watch. "This is a strange place; it feels as if time  
has stopped here. We don't know whether it passes at the same pace as back in Hogwarts - we might  
get back and find that a month has already passed there."

This thought alarmed them, and they rapidly started making their way back. Hermione, who seemed  
quite taken with the tortoises, stopped for another look at them.

"I wonder if they can be taught to sing English songs," she said, as they left the orchard. Before  
descending the side of the mountain to the tunnel again, Harry turned back for one more look.

It's almost too good to leave, he thought. Strange as the place was, it did not feel evil. The haunting  
voices rose to a crescendo, as if bidding them farewell, and then became softer, finally falling to a  
muted murmur.

Fortunately, it appeared as if time did pass at the same rate on the mountain as in Hogwarts, for it  
was about half-past one in the morning when they climbed back into the storeroom, and they had  
been gone for about an hour. After they had closed the lid of the wooden chest, Harry tried the  
_Alohomora_ Charm on it, and to his relief it worked. He didn't want to have to drag Robert there  
every time he wanted to visit the mountain. For he intended to visit it again. There was something  
very serene about the place; all of them felt it, and even Hermione was already talking about borrowing  
Jeanne's cassette player so that she could teach the tortoises how to sing in English.

As the days went by, they found themselves spending a lot of their spare time on the Plateau, as  
they had christened the mountain. The springlike weather persisted, and it became their favourite  
retreat whenever they wanted to escape from the tedium of winter. Chester, especially, seemed  
happy whenever Chee Chong brought him there, which was seldom because he and Robert were  
now spending all their free time analysing the Imperial scrolls. In the end, Chester looked so cold  
and miserable that Chee Chong finally left him on the mountain, coming back every evening and  
morning to check that he was all right.

The next few weeks went quickly by; Harry found himself sometimes losing track of time because he  
had so much to do. He had Quidditch practices to catch up on (Shan tried out his Firebolt, and assured  
him that it was 'almost as good as flying a dragon'), and these, together with the exchange classes in  
addition to his normal ones, made the days seem to fly. He had almost forgotten his suspicions about  
Snufflegint, when he noticed one day during Potions that not only was Jeanne still looking tired, but  
that she also occasionally seemed to be distracted, as if she were thinking of something, and a bitter,  
almost angry expression, would come into her eyes.

He asked her if everything was all right, and she said she had been practising her Internal Magic and  
that it was tiring her out.

Harry always brought the Map along whenever he went to the Plateau, so that the corridor outside  
the storeroom could be monitored in case Dumbledore decided to drop in for a visit. At the same time,  
he would also sometimes idly check the part of the Forbidden Forest where Jeanne and Snufflegint were  
still appearing, almost every afternoon.

Harry had decided, after last year, that he wouldn't poke his nose into Jeanne's affairs again. Even so, he  
couldn't help feeling curious. What were they doing there every afternoon, in the middle of winter? He  
noticed that they hardly ever approached that spot together, and that Snufflegint would sometimes stand  
some distance away from Jeanne. Harry began to wonder whether Jeanne knew that Snufflegint was there.  
Snufflegint might be hiding in some spot, spying on what she was doing.

The only person who might want to harm Jeanne was Deorg. Harry decided, to set his mind at rest, to  
try checking out Deorg's background again, and see if there was any connection between him and Snufflegint.  
He suspected Deorg might have another name, just as Voldemort did. There was no use asking Dumbledore  
or Lupin for Deorg's real name, because they were sure to ask him why he wanted to know, so in the end he  
sent Hedwig off with a letter to Professor Bubcek, pretending he had to write an essay on the Dark Arts in  
Russia and that he wasn't supposed to receive help from any of the Hogwarts teachers. He felt sure that  
Bubcek, being his usual jovial and amiable self, would be unlikely to suspect anything.

Hermione, in the meantime, had been applying herself diligently to teaching the Talking Tortoises how to  
sing in English. She had borrowed Jeanne's cassette player, and had a parcel of music tapes sent to her  
from home.

"It won't work, Hermione," said Harry, watching her one day as she rewound the tapes for the umpteenth  
time, "Those tortoises don't even know what they're saying in Chinese, you'll just confuse them if you try  
teaching them English."

"No, they won't," said Hermione firmly, "they just need to be exposed to the right music. They're sounding  
more and more like those distant voices every day."

Harry looked at the tapes.

"Christmas carols?" he said. "You're going to teach them _A Partridge in a Pear Tree_?"

"Yes," Hermione said, smiling and looking pleased, "I've counted thirteen of them it's just nice, for parts.  
I thought we could bring them to the common room for Christmasthe Chinese students will be here, you  
knowwe can have some live music."

"Oh, that's a good idea!" said Shan, looking enthusiastic, but then added, "We'll have to explain where we  
got them, though."

"Oh, we'll just say we borrowed them from Hagrid," said Hermione. Harry, however, was looking doubtfully  
at the tortoises. One was busily nibbling at some clover, while another was trundling off to another part of  
the orchard. Neither was showing any interest in the music whatsoever.

"Why don't we just play the tapes for Christmas?" he said. "Jeanne's player works all right in Hogwarts."

"It's not the same," said Hermione stubbornly, "A live choir will be much nicer."

Ron had been told about the Plateau, but he had not told Pixie, for she would probably have told Parvati  
and Lavendar about it. He had been looking depressed, and was spending less time with her now, for she  
was constantly receiving flowers and gifts from her various admirers, and was in a fair way of getting her  
head turned. Fatty had not been told about the Plateau either; Harry figured he probably wouldn't have  
shown any interest in it anyway, for lately he seemed obsessed with earning enough money to help his  
father start over again. He was spending all his free time discussing his projects with Mui Sing, especially  
now that Christmas was coming.

"Christmas is the peak period for business, except for Chinese New Year," he gravely informed Harry.

Because the others kept badgering him about the contents of the remaining scrolls, Robert finally restored  
each to the extent that he could roughly tell what they contained.

"Some are old star-maps which look out of date," he said. "The rest look like the _Khai-Yuan Chan Ching_,  
another astronomical manual; but we have a good copy of that in the Tian-Long library too."

Shan and Harry, naturally, were disappointed. If Liu Pei's scroll was among the Imperial scrolls, it obviously  
didn't contain anything important.

"We haven't fully restored all of them yet," said Robert, trying to cheer them up. "Something interesting might  
still turn up."

Hedwig finally returned with Professor Bubcek's reply a week later. Since Harry had politely asked him how  
his research was progressing, Bubcek had written a long and enthusiastic letter describing his current projects,  
and Harry, scanning through the letter anxiously, hoped that the kindly old wizard hadn't forgotten to answer  
his question.

"Here it is!" he said in relief. Ron, who was eating breakfast next to him, also turned to look.

"Got it, now," muttered Harry. "Once Magical Creatures is over, I'm heading to the library."

They set off for the lake. Ron looked as if he wasn't looking forward to the lesson; he, together with many  
of the other students, still hadn't managed to completely master Hover Charms.

The students, however, had a surprise when they arrived at the lake : the tank was completely devoid of  
fish. Instead, Sang Nila was lying smugly in its centre, a satisfied and well-fed look on his face.

Robert gave a small exclamation in Chinese, and hurried over to the tank. Shan, looking panicky, hissed,  
"_Get him back into the lake_!"

But it was too late; Hagrid had already arrived.

He came toward them, humming cheerfully to himself, carrying his usual boxes of worms. Shan and Robert  
looked at each other, then turned to watch Hagrid with a resigned air. Hagrid put the boxes of worms down,  
and then looked at the tank. He started, shook his head, and took another look. Then he stood there with  
a rather lost expression on his face, staring uncomprehendingly into the water, as if unable to grasp the fact  
that the fish had really disappeared. Sang Nila, in the meantime, was staring coolly back at him, his tawny  
eyes narrowing slightly.

Robert, seeing there was no help for it, went over to Hagrid.

"I'm really, really sorry, Hagrid," he said, looking up at Hagrid, who was almost five times his height.

Hagrid was still staring at the empty tank in disbelief. Then, as the truth sank in, he looked down at Robert,  
who was still looking apologetically up at him.

"Ay, well," he said, a bemused expression on his face, "Guess yeh can' blame the poor feller - he wouldn'  
understan' what he was doin', would'eguess he was hungry."

The rest of the students, however, were looking jubilant. The Slytherins were all smirking, while Neville,  
Seamus and Dean were grinning. Only Hermione looked crestfallen.

"We learned all those Hover Charms for nothing," she said.

"I'll get you another batch of fish, if you tell me where they're from," offered Robert. Both the Gryffindors  
and Slytherins, standing behind Hagrid, glared at Robert and shook their heads vigorously at him.

Hagrid, however, was now looking at Sang Nila in an interested fashion. Sang Nila, looking totally unrepentant,  
stared back at him, and growled menacingly.

"'E's a lovely an'mal, actually," said Hagrid, going to the side of the tank to have a better look. "Yeh don' see  
his kind very often. Oughter take advantage of his bein' here, before the exchange programme ends."

He paused, still looking at Sang Nila, and then said, "Tell yeh what, we can have a go with him till end Jan'ry,  
an' then I'll get a new batch o' fish."

"What?" whispered Pixie, looking horrified. "Look after that Merlion? No! No, no, no, no!"

Malfoy, too, was looking displeased.

"I object," he snapped, looking at Hagrid. "The creature's a menace. If it draws even a drop of blood from  
any of us, I'll see that it's executed."

Robert abruptly turned, and looked at him. Malfoy, suddenly remembering who the Merlion belonged to,  
turned pale and became silent.

Hagrid, however, was looking more and more pleased with this solution.

"Lovely an'mal," he repeated, ignoring Malfoy and looking rather covetously at Sang Nila. "Shoulda thought  
o' this before. Except, yeh'll have ter tell us what ter do," - looking at Robert - "Haven' had much experience  
with Merlions, meself."

Robert looked hesitantly at Hagrid, and then at Sang Nila.

"Wellonce he's fed, he doesn't need much looking after, actually," he said, and then added, with a perfectly  
straight face, "And I think he's pretty full right now."

The Slytherins and Gryffindors were now looking at Sang Nila, as if trying to size him up. Sang Nila stared  
coldly back at them, and growled.

Hagrid looked rather lost. Robert, seeing this, said, "I suppose we could read to him."

The others all turned and looked at him.

"He likes being read to," explained Robert. "Thrillers and fantasy. Not romance, though."

"What?" said Pixie shrilly. "Read to that mad Merlion? After he's tried to chomp my hands off twice? You've  
got to be joking!"

The rest of the class, however, was enthusiastic. Reading aloud, though it seemed rather silly, was a pleasant  
task compared with a lot of things they'd been required to do in the past for Hagrid's classes.

"Topping idea," said Dean. "I've got some Stephen King in my bag. Guarantee he'll like it."

So they spent the rest of the lesson taking turns to read aloud to Sang Nila, who persisted in fixing the various  
readers with a baleful and unwinking stare.

Once Magical Creatures was over, Harry grabbed his things and sped off to the library. Taking _Who's Who  
in the Wizarding World, A - K_ from the shelf, he searched for Deorg's name.

"Here it is," he muttered. "Khorkin, Boris Mikhailovitch."

He sat down, and started reading.

Ron, who had followed him, sat by and waited for him to finish.

"Well?" he prompted, after a few minutes.

Harry read a few more lines, then looked at Ron.

"I was right," he said, "The Tomb Sect takes in members from any country, so long as they're proficient in  
the Black Arts. And Deorg was leader of the Tomb Sect, the same time Snufflegint became a Sect member."

- 


	21. Christmas

Hi - I don't know why the reviews are not showing up in my list (except for muggle genius),   
but I got them in my email, so thanks (sorry, I can't tell who sent the reviews until they   
show up on the list). Hope you like this chapter. ~ Kim :o)

------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------

  
**Chapter XXI**

**_Christmas_**

  
_The snow fell softly in the night  
On every branch and twig it lay  
Revealing with the morning light  
A scene of sparkling artistry;  
No hand could paint, no finger trace  
The perfect beauty on Earth's face._

_~ Anonymous  
_

**H**arry, now convinced that Snufflegint was up to no good, decided he'd better warn  
Jeanne before any harm came to her. He managed to get her alone, down at Hagrid's hut,  
the following day.

"I came across Professor Snufflegint's name in a wizard's _Who's Who_ book, in the library,  
the other day," he said casually, after they had talked about several other things. "It said he  
used to be in a Pugilistic Sect."

Jeanne didn't seem surprised.

"Yes, that's right," she said, smiling slightly.

Harry, who hadn't been expecting this reaction, was rather nonplussed.

"The book said that this Sect dabbles in Black Magic," he said. "Sounds suspicious, doesn't  
it? D'you think he can be trusted?"

Jeanne raised an eyebrow.

"Professor Dumbledore seems to think so," she remarked, "or he wouldn't have allowed  
Septimus into Hogwarts."

"The Tian-Long students seem to think he's up to something," Harry added. "They say he  
isn't the type who'd volunteer to restore old scrolls. In fact, Robert and Chee Chong have  
been doing all the restoring; Snufflegint's just been hiding inside his office, looking secretive."

Jeanne looked amused.

"You're imagining it, Harry," she said. "Septimus probably became a Pugilist out of curiosity.  
It was a long time ago, anyway. He seems perfectly trustworthy to me; I had a very pleasant  
tea with him, that day."

Harry persisted.

"Chee Chong says he goes out every afternoon, no one knows where. What if he's up to  
something?"

Jeanne looked speculatively at him, then smiled. Harry held his breath, hoping she wouldn't  
suspect that he'd been spying on her.

"If you don't trust Septimus, there's no use telling me, Harry," she said calmly. "You should tell  
Dumbledore instead. I've hardly come into contact with him, since the day I had tea with him."

Harry hesitated. He had the feeling she knew he had been watching her. He knew he should  
back off. But what if Snufflegint was really spying on her, without her knowing? Should he tell  
her what the Map had shown? If she was really doing something together with Snufflegint, and  
he told her he knew she was lying, things weren't going to be very pleasant.

In the end, he decided to tackle Professor Lupin instead. Lupin probably knew what Jeanne  
was doing near the Forbidden Forest. He stayed back later that afternoon, after their Dark Arts  
class. As he approached Lupin's desk, he searched his mind for a way to bring the subject up.

"Just wondering about Jeanne's schedule," he lied, "She's never around between two to four, is  
she? I want to ask her something, and that's the only time I'm free nowadays."

Lupin didn't seem to suspect anything; he smiled at Harry.

"Yes, she always Portkeys back to Tian-Long during that time," he said. "She's still taking  
lessons from Master Kung."

Harry was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected to hear this. So, Lupin didn't know. Jeanne  
was deceiving him. It was unthinkable. Would Jeanne lie to Lupin? What was happening?  
Did Snufflegint have the same talents as Deorg, and was he exercising some sort of mind  
control over Jeanne?

He looked at Lupin, nonplussed. He couldn't tell him he'd been spying using the Map. Lupin  
could not sanction the use of the Map now that he was a teacher, and besides, if Harry told  
him, he would be bringing discord between Lupin and Jeanne.

But surely, ensuring Jeanne's safety is more important, Harry thought. However, he was  
beginning to feel rather confused now. Maybe he had got it all wrong, and something totally  
different was happening. He decided to let the matter rest for the time being, till he'd had more  
time to think things over. So he excused himself, and left the classroom.

The holidays soon arrived, and nearly everyone in the school, except for those involved in  
the exchange programme, went home for Christmas.

"I'm sorry all of you had to stay, because of us," said Shan, as they went down for breakfast  
the first morning.

Harry shrugged.

"I don't think Seamus and the others mind," he said, "Parvati and Lavendar have been planning  
all sorts of things for the Christmas party here. I always stay, anyway, and so do Ron and  
Hermione, to keep me company, though they won't admit it."

Shan had heard about the Dursleys. She could sympathise, since she was in a similar situation;  
but at least she also had Robert and his family.

"There aren't any holidays during Christmas, in Tian-Long," she said. "We have them some time  
in January or February instead, when the Lunar New Year comes around."

Harry and the others had missed the first Hogsmeade weekend because they'd been in China,  
so Professor McGonagall had given them permission to go that afternoon.

It had snowed heavily the previous night, and they had to trudge through several large snowdrifts  
to get out of the castle grounds. Robert, who was so small that he would have easily been buried  
in a snowdrift, took it easy at first by following behind and letting them trample the snow down for  
him. However, when he saw how tired they were becoming, he conjured up a shovel and bewitched  
it to dig a path for them.

"It looks like something out of a story-book," said Shan in delight, when they reached Hogsmeade.  
The thatched cottages and shops did look very pretty, their doorways wreathed in holly, the usual  
enchanted candles shining in the trees.

Ron had been spending more time with Pixie again, now that she wasn't surrounded by a crowd  
of would-be suitors. Predictably, she made a beeline for Wanda's Witches' Wardrobe, pulling  
him along with her. Shan, seeing Robert heading for the nearest bookshop, caught him by the  
arm and led him toward Dervish and Banges instead.

"I need you to help me choose a new calculator," she said. "Our old one is falling to bits."

Harry and Hermione found themselves going into Honeydukes with Fatty and Chee Chong.

"There's a market for these in China," said Fatty, when he saw the array of sweets in the shop,  
a familiar gleam in his eye. He looked around to see where the proprietor of the shop was, and  
was soon in deep conversation with her.

"Imagine, we might one day see Cockroach Cluster being sold in Hong Kong," murmured  
Hermione, as they filled their arms with goodies for the celebration they were planning on  
Christmas day.

Shan and Robert came in to look around after a while, holding a new roll of parchment and  
looking pleased with themselves. They then extricated Pixie and Ron from Wanda's Witches'  
Wardrobe and went to the Three Broomsticks for a drink, after which they just strolled around  
the village.

Ron was looking worried, wondering what to get Pixie for Christmas. When she became  
distracted by one of the shop-windows, he managed to slip away and dragged Harry along  
with him to one of the other shops.

"Lavendar suggested some embroidered handkerchiefs," he said. "Help me choose, Harry."

Harry had been wondering if he should get something for Shan. She seemed so tomboyish that  
he doubted that she would want handkerchiefs. Spying some quaint wooden English clocks in  
the same shop, he finally bought a small, old-fashioned bedside clock.

Most of the handkerchiefs looked the same to him, so in the end Harry suggested Ron choose a  
set that had Pixie's initials on them. They then hurried back before Pixie could notice Ron's absence.

The next few days were spent decorating the Gryffindor common room. They managed to  
squeeze a small fir tree in through the portrait hole, and then bewitched it to grow until it almost  
touched the ceiling of the common room. Robert volunteered to decorate the remainder of the  
room, while the rest worked on the tree. Hermione looked amused when she saw how seriously  
he was taking it. He managed to get hold of some of the decorations Professor Flitwick was using  
for the Great Hall, and the walls of the common room were soon festooned with holly and mistletoe.  
Robert added little sparkling lights to the garlands, and then stood there, wondering if their colours  
matched those of the Christmas tree or not. He would look gravely at the lights for a few minutes,  
shake his head, and then change them to another colour.

"Robert, _do_ come and give us a hand," said Shan, after he had changed the lights' colours for the  
twentieth time. "The sooner we get the tree done, the sooner you'll know whether your lights match  
it or not."

Harry had not forgotten about Jeanne and Snufflegint. Finally, armed with the Map and the Invisibility  
Cloak, he set out for the Forbidden Forest one day to see what they were doing. However, he was  
still some distance from them when he checked the Map and noticed first Jeanne, then Snufflegint,  
moving away from that area. A chorus of chirps coming from one of the nearby trees made him look  
up; a flock of sparrows was nervously eyeing the footprints he was leaving behind in the snow. A flurry  
of movement to his right also caught his attention, and he saw several rabbits hopping away into a  
nearby clump of bushes. Jeanne must have planted watchmen all around the area, he thought, to warn  
her if anyone was coming. The Cloak was of no use; the animals could smell him. And Snufflegint was  
still following her.

Harry gave up and made his way back to the castle, feeling both intrigued and worried. What was she  
up to now? He later went to see her with the excuse that he wanted her to help him wrap his present  
for Shan.

Jeanne's eyes widened when she saw the clock.

"Are you sure you want to give her _that_?" she asked, taking the clock from him and examining it.

Harry was rather nonplussed. "Why not?"

Jeanne looked thoughtfully at the clock, then laughed.

"I guess it's all right," she said, placing the clock on a table and looking around for some giftwrap,  
"I don't think Shan is the superstitious type."

"What?" said Harry. "Why? What's wrong with my clock?"

Jeanne had taken several sheets of giftwrap from a drawer.

"Nothing's wrong," she said. "It's a very pretty clock. It's just that Chinese people don't usually give  
clocks as gifts."

She placed the giftwrap on the table, and reached her hand out to take hold of the clock, but Harry  
had already taken it away.

"Hold on a minute," he said. "They don't give clocks as gifts? Why not?"

"To 'give a clock' in Chinese is _song-zhong_," explained Jeanne, "which also sounds exactly like the  
words for paying your respects when someone has died."

She took her quill, and scribbled the Chinese characters on a sheet of parchment for him to see.

"Oh," said Harry.

"I don't think Shan really cares about such things, though," said Jeanne. "She'd understand that  
you weren't aware of it."

But Harry didn't feel like giving Shan the clock now. In the end, Jeanne took out a simple photo  
frame that she had decorated, and let him have it in exchange for the clock.

It was only five minutes after Harry had left the room, still looking at the photo frame, now nicely  
wrapped in red and green, that he realised he had forgotten to pump Jeanne about what she was  
doing in the Forbidden Forest. She was still looking tired, and he decided, at any rate, that he'd  
better find out what Snufflegint was being so secretive about, in his office. That afternoon, he  
managed to corner Robert before he went to the Astronomy Tower. Now that they had finished  
decorating the common room, both Robert and Chee Chong had resumed restoring the Imperial  
scrolls.

He began to explain about Deorg to Robert, but Robert stopped him.

"I already know," he said. "Sang Nila told me. He says the wildlife around here all know about  
Chien-Mei."

Harry was surprised. "Does Shan know?"

Robert shook his head.

"I wasn't sure if Chien-Mei wanted her to know, so I didn't tell her."

Harry privately agreed. Shan was already being so cool to Jeanne, there was no telling how she  
might react if she found out what Jeanne had done in Kamchatka.

"I found out that Snufflegint used to be in the same Pugilistic Sect as Deorg," he said. "The  
Marauder's Map has shown that he's been spending a lot of time with Jeanne, and I don't  
trust him. Can you try finding out what he's been doing inside his office?"

Robert looked at him for a moment, then finally nodded.

Harry could hardly wait for that afternoon to be over. At around four o'clock, Robert  
appeared in the common room, and seeing Harry and Shan in one corner playing exploding  
snap, came directly over.

Harry hurriedly kept the cards away.

"All right," said Robert, going straight to the point, "I went to Li-Kai's office pretending I  
wanted to ask him something, and I saw a scroll and a yellow piece of silk on his desk  
before he came out and shut the door."

Shan, hearing this, said at once, "Liu Pei's scroll!" She glanced at Harry. "So - that means  
Li-Kai was the thief!"

"Perhaps," said Robert. "When he went out later, as he usually does, I managed to pick his  
lock and have a look around the office. I didn't see the scroll anywhere, but a powerful  
Repelling Charm has been placed on a cupboard in one corner. I'm guessing that the scroll,  
or something important, is inside."

"Did you try breaking the Charm?" asked Harry.

Robert shook his head.

"I'd probably give myself away immediately, if I tried," he said. "It's like a burglar alarm.  
Wizards normally plug such repelling barriers into their consciousness, so that they can  
feel at once if anyone is trying to penetrate them."

Shan looked dismayed. "There's no way to get near the cupboard, then."

"There might be," said Robert, looking at Harry. "I looked around the rest of the office.  
Li-Kai left an old Pugilist's Manual on his desk, and there was a chapter on Repelling Charms  
in there. Those Charms were developed by the Mongols during the Yuan Dynasty to work  
on the Han Chinese. They may not have any effect on a non-Chinese. Harry might be able to  
bypass it."

Shan turned to Harry, an excited look on her face. Harry, however, wasn't so sure.

"I heard you mention a lot of 'mights' and 'maybes'," he said. "We're not completely certain,  
are we?"

"The worst that can happen is that you won't be able to get near the cupboard," said Robert.  
"Li-Kai can feel if someone is trying to penetrate the barrier, but he won't be able to tell who  
the person is. He'll most likely suspect it's me or Chee Chong. That's probably why he used  
a Mongol Repelling Charm in the first place. A normal Repelling Charm is easier to perform,  
but far less powerful."

"You can do it on Christmas night, Harry!" said Shan enthusiastically. "Professor Dumbledore  
is having a special little dinner for us Tian-Long students, and he is insisting Master Li-Kai  
attend, as well. All of you are invited too, but you can pretend that you're still feeling too full  
from our Christmas party."

"Fine, let's say I do manage to get the scroll," said Harry, "What, then? I can't just nick  
it - Snufflegint will be looking everywhere for the thief!"

"You don't have to steal it," said Robert, "Just duplicate it."

Harry stared at him. "Duplicate it?"

"You can easily look up Duplicating Charms in the library," said Robert. "Hermione should  
be able to perform them, with a bit of practice."

Harry looked at the two of them.

"You seem to have decided everything for me and Hermione," he said.

"Well, you want the scroll, don't you?" said Shan, grinning.

Harry glared at them, then thought of something else.

"Did Chee Chong know why you were breaking into Snufflegint's office?" he asked Robert.

Robert hesitated.

"I don't know if I should mention this," he said, rather reluctantly, "but I think Li-Kai has  
been interrogating Chong about something. He kept Chong back for half an hour the other  
day, and I think he did a Memory Charm on him, because he didn't seem to remember  
anything about it when I asked him later."

Harry and Shan looked at each other in dismay. It was a good thing they hadn't told  
Chee Chong about Liu Pei's scroll yet.

"Chong doesn't know I broke in," added Robert, "Li-Kai's office has two entrances : one  
from the chamber, and one from the corridor outside. I said I had to go somewhere for a  
while, and then let myself in by the corridor entrance."

"I can't imagine why anyone would suspect Chong of anything," said Shan. "He's so - well,  
_harmless_."

Harry suddenly remembered something.

"The Plateau!" he said. "Chee Chong knows about it!"

Both Shan and Robert looked at him.

"That's true," said Robert, "but how would Li-Kai suspect that Chee Chong knew? There's  
nothing on the Plateau that would interest him, anyway."

That was true, Harry thought. It was just a pleasant place, with flowers and Talking Tortoises.  
He decided not to worry about it for the time being, but concentrate on getting the scroll instead.

There was no time to lose; the next day was Christmas. Harry managed to get Hermione  
alone, after dinner, and tried to persuade her to help him duplicate the scroll.

"All right," said Hermione, a gleam in her eye, "But you've got to help me smuggle the tortoises  
out of the Plateau."

"What?" said Harry. "Haven't you given up on that idea? You haven't managed to get them to  
speak a single word of English!"

"I've thought of a way," said Hermione firmly. "You just have to help me locate them tomorrow.  
It'll be easy enough to put them to sleep, and I'll do all the carrying."

So, that night, they put the Cloak on and headed for the storeroom. Shan came as well, because  
she was fond of the tortoises, and said she knew how to lure them out into the open.

They came across Argus Filch on their way there, and stopped to let him pass. Filch was scowling  
and looking extremely annoyed; he had been in a very bad mood lately, and with good reason.  
The Monkey King had been having the time of his life, masquerading as Peeves, and wreaking  
more than his fair share of havoc. Because he was able to make himself look exactly like Peeves,  
it was impossible to tell when the mischief was done by him and when it was due to the real Peeves.  
Peeves, of course, was furious; he didn't mind messes made by himself, but he resented the fact  
that he was being taken advantage of, and a full-scale war had erupted between him and the  
Monkey King. This, of course, had resulted in even more work for Filch.

Once Filch had gone, Harry and the other two managed to get into the storeroom and were soon  
in the peach orchard, hunting for the tortoises. They found Chester there as well, who looked  
pleased to see them. He flew up into a peach tree and began chirping away happily, watching  
them as they searched around for the tortoises.

They found seven without much trouble, but the rest proved to be more elusive.

"Surely we don't need all of them," said Harry, when they had managed to catch another two.

"We need thirteen," said Hermione, "if they're to sing _Partridge in a Pear Tree_ properly."

The captured tortoises, which had been placed in a sack on the grass, were making a lot of  
noise. Hermione tapped the bulging and squirming sack with her wand, and the tortoises  
promptly fell silent and stopped moving.

"Time to use a lure," said Shan, conjuring several strawberries with her wand. Within a few  
minutes, the remaining four tortoises came lumbering up to her.

The smallest one, a little horn-coloured fellow, was so cute that Shan picked it up, and said  
a few affectionate words to it.

"Is that another kindred spirit?" asked Hermione, looking amused.

"Not quite," said Shan, placing the little tortoise on the grass again. She watched it for a while,  
as it swallowed one of the strawberries, then said, "So far, no animal can beat a wolf I met  
once, back at Tian-Long. I felt really happy talking to it."

Harry, keeping his face expressionless, stuffed the other three tortoises into the sack.

"Wonder what it's like, to be a wolf," said Shan, now looking absently at the mountains in the  
distance.

"I guess you could ask Jeanne, or Professor Lupin," said Hermione, "They'd be able to tell you."

Shan looked surprised. "Professor Lupin?"

Harry searched his mind for another topic, so that he could change the subject, but Hermione  
was already continuing.

"Professor Lupin used to be a werewolf," she explained. "Everyone in the school knows about  
it. But he was partially cured last year, so now he only transforms into a normal wolf instead,  
during full moon."

Shan had gone rather pale. She glanced at Harry, who was suddenly very busy fiddling with  
the sack of tortoises.

Hermione spotted the horn-coloured tortoise disappearing behind a peach tree, and went to  
look for it.

Shan came over to Harry, who was still staring at the sack and looking very busy.

"He's been visiting Chien-Mei quite often, hasn't he, at Tian-Long?" she said, in a dangerously  
quiet voice.

Harry didn't know what to say. He cautiously lifted his eyes from the sack, and saw that Shan  
was glaring at him.

"Both times I saw the wolf, it was full moon, and Chien-Mei was there," she added. Her face  
was now red, and she was beginning to look extremely embarrassed.

Harry found his voice.

"He didn't mind you talking to him, Shan," he said, trying to think of something tactful to say.  
"Jeanne told me he refused to tell her anything you told him."

Shan's face went even redder.

"You knew," she said accusingly, "and you didn't tell me."

Hermione had come back with the tortoise. Not noticing Shan's embarrassed face, she placed  
it in the sack, then took her wand out.

"_Soporus_," she muttered, tapping with her wand. The little bulge in the sack immediately stopped  
squirming.

Hermione tapped the sack once more, saying, "_Agitabilis_!" and then lifted it easily and slung it  
over her shoulder. As they were about to leave, Harry happened to glance at the peach trees,  
and noticed that the flowers of one had all fallen to the ground, making it stand out from the rest,  
which were still covered with pale pink blossoms.

"First sign of change," he thought to himself. At least some things did change, on this mountain.

Shan was still looking slightly red-faced. However, she had now noticed something else.

"The tortoises are snoring," she said. "We'd better not pass Mr Filch again on the way back."

The tortoises were, indeed, snoring very loudly. They sounded like a pack of chain-saws.  
Hermione tried the Sleeping Charm again, hoping it might quiet them, but they just snored  
louder than ever. Finally, Shan took her wand out.

"Maybe I can soundproof the sack," she said, and tapping it, said something in Chinese.

It worked. The sack, though still vibrating, became silent. They left the Plateau, waving to  
Chester, who was still chirping away in his peach tree, and managed to get back to the  
common room with no one the wiser about their expedition.

The Christmas presents Harry received that year were quite unlike any he'd received before.  
Pixie's gifts were little ivory spheres, which she had carved herself, while Fatty distributed  
small hampers of Chinese sweets, labelled "_With the compliments of the Season, from  
Mui-Fatt Enterprises_". Robert gave everyone a block of chocolate shaped like a Merlion -  
Pixie had an extra large one - which growled menacingly when it was about to be eaten.  
Shan banded together with Chee Chong, and handed a sack of firework sticks around.  
These, when set off, flew to the ceiling and exploded into multicoloured Chinese dragons.  
They danced around for a while before dissolving into small glittering lights, which arranged  
themselves into four Chinese characters before eventually fading. Chee Chong said that the  
characters meant "Merry Christmas", and that he and Shan hadn't been able to get hold of  
the English version.

Ron managed to bring Pixie to one corner of the room and gave her a small parcel wrapped  
in psychedelic orange and purple. Pixie, on opening it, looked astonished. She hesitated,  
then gave Ron a dazzling smile and kissed him quickly on the cheek.

Harry, who had been watching out of the corner of his eye, noticed Chee Chong and Fatty  
also watching and looking rather shocked. They began muttering to each other, in Chinese.

Harry looked uncertainly at them. Shan came up with a box of Christmas crackers, and  
offered him one.

"Anything wrong?" she asked, looking at his face.

"That's what I'm wondering," said Harry, glancing at Ron and Pixie again. Pixie had just  
brought out a large parcel, and was watching Ron unwrap it. "Ron just gave Pixie a set of  
embroidered handkerchiefs, and Fatty and Chee Chong didn't look too pleased about it."

Shan seemed amused.

"Some Chinese don't like handkerchiefs as gifts," she explained softly. "They're associated  
with weeping, and tears. It's as if you're wishing the recipient unhappiness."

"Oh," said Harry, wondering what her reaction would have been if he had given her the clock.

"I don't think Pixie minds, though," said Shan, turning to look as a burst of giggles erupted  
from Parvati and Lavendar, who were watching Ron and Pixie. Ron was holding up a new  
set of dress robes. They were bright fluorescent pink, and ten times frillier than his maroon  
robes had been. Pixie was standing demurely by, looking her most innocent.

"Like it, Ronniekins?" she asked, and then, seeing the horrified look on his face, began to giggle.

"I'm just joking, Ronniekins," she said. She took the robes, and taking out her wand, transformed  
them into a sprig of mistletoe. "Here's your _real_ gift."

Ron looked uncertainly at it.

"It's, er, very nice, Pix," he said, holding it up and looking at it.

Pixie dimpled at him, then giggled again.

"You obviously don't know how it's used," she said. "Let me show you." And she began  
leading him toward the portrait hole and out of the common room, almost knocking into  
Hermione who was climbing in, holding a cauldron.

"What's that for?" asked Harry curiously.

"Singing Solution," said Hermione placidly. Taking a piece of holly from one of the garlands  
on the wall, she dropped it into the cauldron, and then carried it over to the corner of the  
room where she had left the sack containing the tortoises. The sack was beginning to squirm,  
indicating the tortoises were starting to wake up.

"I hope that works on live animals," said Shan, looking rather anxious as Hermione took  
one of the tortoises out and squirted several drops of solution into its mouth. It gave a  
couple of surprised hiccups, then looked at Hermione with its boot-button eyes, and  
began to sing _We Wish You A Merry Christmas_ in an alto voice.

Hermione, a triumphant expression on her face, began dosing all the tortoises, and they  
were soon trundling around that corner of the room, singing Christmas carols with great  
enthusiasm.

"They're all singing different carols," objected Shan, listening to the confusion of song that  
was getting louder and louder.

"I've thought of that, too," said Hermione, flipping through a Charms library book. She  
stopped at one page, and pointed her wand at the tortoises.

"_Concentio_!" she said.

The tortoises all immediately launched into _A Partridge in A Pear Tree_.

"Ooo, they're all singing in parts," said Pixie, who had come back into the room together  
with Ron. Neither mentioned what they had been doing outside, but Ron's face was  
extremely red, and he had a dazed expression on his face.

"This is an unusual Christmas lunch," said Lavendar, looking at the spread on the table.  
The Tian-Long students had insisted they must contribute something, and had summoned  
Ting-Ting out of the kitchens the day before and described what they wanted. And so,  
besides the normal Christmas turkey and mince pies, there was also a small table groaning  
with Chinese food : dim-sum, consisting of ten different types of dumplings, small spring-rolls,  
and a whole array of desserts.

"I hope there's enough for everyone," Shan whispered, as she handed Harry a goblet full of  
iced lychees; but as the others helped themselves, they saw that the dishes immediately  
replenished themselves again.

"What's this?" asked Neville, trying out a transparent, jelly-like dessert.

"Bird's nest," said Fatty.

Neville looked dubiously at it.

"But it doesn't look like a bird's nest," he pointed out.

"Well, it is," said Fatty. "Type of swift, to be precise. They don't use sticks or mud to build  
their nests, like most birds."

"What, then?" asked Lavendar, trying some.

Fatty grinned at her and Neville.

"Saliva," he said.

Lavendar spat her mouthful of bird's nest back into her goblet.

"What?" she spluttered. She looked at Fatty with big eyes, and then, realising he was  
serious, went dashing off to the girl's toilet to rinse her mouth.

Neville, who had swallowed his mouthful, was looking rather green. Shan, looking  
worriedly at him, said, "It's really quite edible, Neville. In fact, it's a delicacy. This stuff  
usually costs a fortune."

None of the British students, however, dared to touch the bird's nest after that. The  
Tian-Long students, looking amused, helped themselves liberally. Lavendar came back,  
looking rather pale, and insisted they explain what all the other dishes contained before  
she would agree to consume their contents.

Robert had smuggled one of the Imperial scrolls out of the Astronomy Tower, and once  
lunch was over, Hermione curled up in a corner of the common room with a pile of Charms  
spellbooks from the library, and began practising Duplicating Charms on it. Neville and the  
others could see what she was doing, of course, but didn't seem surprised, because Hermione  
was always trying out spells that were not in the school syllabus.

"You'll have to make a better copy than that, Hermione," said Harry, an hour later, looking  
at the pile of duplicated scrolls next to her, "or we won't be able to make out what the words  
are."

Hermione, screwing up her face in concentration, tapped the original scroll again.

"_Imago_," she said; another copy appeared.

"Still no good," she murmured, examining it. "Try another one."

She referred to her spellbook, and muttering, "_Simulo_!", tapped the original again.

"Li-Kai's office is on the third level from the top, with an east-facing window," said Robert,  
that evening before he and Shan left for Professor Dumbledore's Christmas dinner. "The  
Repelling Charm appears as a green line on the floor. If it works on you, you'll feel something  
like an invisible wall there; if so, try to get out of the office as fast as you can."

Harry nodded, as Ron came over with Fatty's crystal globe.

"Fatty's got a spare," he said, handing it to Harry, "which I'll borrow from him, when I see  
Snufflegint leaving the table. I've told him you have a family emergency, you're waiting for a  
call from home."

Harry took the globe. "How d'you use it?"

"Dunno," said Ron. "You don't need to, anyway. I'll be the one calling you. I'm going to ask  
Shan to activate it, when the time comes."

Harry tucked the globe into his robes. It was just a safety measure, for he intended to keep  
an eye on Snufflegint using the Marauder's Map, anyway.

"Good luck," said Shan, looking as if she wished she was going with him and Hermione, as  
she and the others left the common room.

Hermione was still sitting to one side, practising Duplicating Charms. There was now a small  
mountain of duplicated scrolls next to her.

"Snufflegint's leaving his office now, Hermione," said Harry, checking the Map. "Let's go."

Hermione distractedly stuffed several sheets of parchment into her robes, on which she had  
copied all the various Duplicating and Unlocking Charms. She then jabbed her wand at the  
pile of scrolls, and they immediately disappeared. Harry, bringing his Firebolt over to the  
common room window, waited till Hermione had seated herself on it, behind him. This proved  
to be a bit of a squeeze, for the Firebolt was not made for two. They then covered themselves  
with the Invisibility Cloak. Harry kicked the floor with his right foot, and the Firebolt sailed  
swiftly up in the air and out the window, and carried them away into the wintry night.

- 


	22. The Scroll of Wu-Hsien

I must be the only author here who posts fics faster than the readers can read! LOL. :o)  
Muggle genius, this chapter's for you. ~ Kim

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------  


**Chapter XXII**

**_The Scroll of Wu-Hsien_**

  
_But I am constant as the northern star  
Of whose true-fix'd and resting quality  
There is no fellow in the firmament.  
The skies are painted with unnumber'd sparks  
They are all fire and every one doth shine,  
But there's but one in all doth hold his place_

_~Julius Caesar, act.III, Sc.I  
_

**P**rofessor Snufflegint's office, illuminated in the light of their wands, was unlike any that  
Harry had seen in Hogwarts. It looked like the interior of a rocky cave, and rare and beautiful  
Chinese ornaments were scattered everywhere. A collection of about fifty delicate porcelain  
snuff bottles were arranged on a carved rosewood table, while large scrolls covered with  
calligraphy adorned the walls. A Chinese tea-set, consisting of a small teapot and cups of fine  
porcelain, reposed on another side table, together with an array of jars filled with different  
varieties of fragrant Chinese tea-leaves. Three large bookcases were filled with books and scrolls  
in Chinese, while even more were to be found in several shelves hewn into the wall.

They had managed to unlock the window without any problem, using the _Alohomora_ Charm. As  
they peered into the dark interior of the room, a thin line of green fire could be seen glowing on the  
floor at the far end, running in a semicircle around a dark shape that must be the cupboard. Harry,  
leaving his broomstick against the wall near the window, raised his lighted wand and went toward  
it first.

"Careful," murmured Hermione, just behind him, as he stopped in front of the fiery line. Harry took  
a breath, then stepped across the line. Nothing happened; Robert had been right - the Charm didn't  
work on non-Chinese!

"All right," whispered Hermione, stepping over the line and fumbling around in her robes for her  
parchment. She tried opening the cupboard, but it was locked. She then brought a luminous toadstool  
out, and placed it on top of the cupboard where it dimly illuminated its surroundings.

Harry watched as Hermione tried Opening spells on the cupboard, one by one. Leaving her to it, he  
seated himself in a chair near the window and took the Marauder's Map out, to make sure Snufflegint  
was still at the Christmas dinner.

After about ten minutes, there was a slight creaking sound, and Harry saw Hermione swinging the  
cupboard doors open. Hurrying over, he saw that the cupboard was almost empty, except for a  
hemispherical glass dome on the top shelf. A bundle, wrapped in yellow silk, lay inside, and so did  
a carved vessel, made of bronze.

"What's that?" said Harry, looking at the bronze vessel with interest.

"Don't know," said Hermione. She gingerly tried lifting the glass dome away, but it refused to budge.  
With a small sigh, she unrolled her parchment again, and started going through the Opening Charms  
once more.

Harry, deciding to continue keeping an eye on Snufflegint, turned around and had a terrible shock.  
The tall figure of a human-like creature was standing silently several feet in front of him, silhouetted  
against the dim light from the window. His heart beating fast, Harry raised his lighted wand, and then  
realised, to his relief, that it was the Monkey King.

Hermione, turning around, saw it too and gave a small gasp of fright before she realised who it was.

"How did he get in?" muttered Harry, as the Monkey King came over to them, an inquisitive expression  
on its face.

"The window, I guess," murmured Hermione, as she turned back to the dome, still looking rather shaken.  
"Keep an eye on him, in case he starts whooping and gives us all away."

The Monkey King came and stood next to her, watching as she tried one spell after another. Harry  
watched it for a while, but to his relief, it didn't utter a sound, and seemed content to just observe  
what was happening. After a while Harry went back to the window and sat down again, and continued  
watching Snufflegint on the Map.

Hermione gave up after twenty minutes, and came over to Harry, looking discouraged.

"None of the spells are working," she said. "I can't get the dome open."

Harry felt his heart sinking.

"Let me try," he said, although he was positive that the chances of his succeeding were even smaller.

The Monkey King had followed Hermione over to the window, and was still staring at her. Hermione,  
looking uncomfortable, glared back at it, but didn't dare shoo it off, in case it started making a racket.

Harry went through all the spells, but couldn't get the dome open either.

"I found another spellbook," said Hermione, coming over with a book she had taken from one of the  
shelves, "It's in English. Let me try again."

Harry left her and the monkey, and went back to his window seat. He checked the Map; Snufflegint  
was still in the Great Hall. He stared out of the window. Good thing it's not snowing tonight, he thought,  
or the snow'd come in when we leave through the window, and Snufflegint would see it melting on the  
floor.

He looked back into the office. Hermione was still patiently trying out charms, but the Monkey King  
had now become bored, and was looking around the room. It picked up a large, intricately carved  
sandalwood fan from the desk, and fanned itself for a while. Then it spied the tea-set, which was just  
in front of Harry. It came over and picked up two of the porcelain teacups, which filled up with  
steaming tea immediately. Offering one to Harry, it downed the other in one gulp.

Harry cautiously sipped the tea, and found it fragrant but rather tasteless; there was no sugar in it. When  
he had finished the monkey handed him another cup of tea, of a different flavour, but by the third he  
decided he'd had enough, and refused to take any more. The monkey, seeing this, placed the teacups  
back. Noticing the collection of snuff bottles on the rosewood table, it went over and to Harry's dismay,  
picked them up one after another and started juggling them.

"Shh, stop!" he hissed, but the monkey ignored him. Harry watched, holding his breath, and hoping  
fervently that none of the bottles would come smashing to the ground. The monkey was amazingly deft,  
and it was quite a sight, thirty or forty snuff bottles in the air at the same time. The monkey levitated up  
in the air, in a seated lotus position, then swung upside down and hovered there, looking at Harry, still  
juggling all the while.

Harry sat and watched, the Map lying next to him, forgotten. A sudden loud ringing from inside his  
robes suddenly brought him back to his senses.

The monkey, hearing the ringing, swung the right way up again, and sent all the snuff bottles sailing  
through the air back to the rosewood table, where they landed without a sound and stood neatly  
upright, in their original positions.

Harry hurriedly brought the ringing globe out, and tapped it with his wand. The monkey turned and  
looked at Hermione, and went over to watch her again.

Ron's face appeared in the globe.

"Snufflegint's just left the table, Harry," he mumbled, so softly that Harry could hardly catch the words.

"What?" he said. Ron shushed him.

"Shh, the others might hear," he said, muffling his voice with his hand. Harry could see Pixie talking to  
someone in the background, and her familiar giggling sounded faintly through the globe. He guessed  
that Ron had retreated some distance from the dinner table, to make the call.

"But you've only been there less than an hour," whispered Harry, glancing at the Map. Sure enough,  
he could see Snufflegint slowly leaving the Great Hall.

"Old git's being antisocial, as usual," whispered Ron. "Dumbledore tried to make him stay, but he said  
he was tired."

"Stall him, will you?" whispered Harry desperately. "We haven't got the scroll yet!"

But now several other voices could be heard approaching from Ron's end, and Pixie's giggles were  
getting louder. Ron suddenly mumbled, "Gotta go. People coming." And then, the globe abruptly went  
dark.

Harry looked at the Map : Snufflegint was now in the Entrance Hall, moving toward the marble staircase.  
He hurried over to Hermione.

"Hermione, we've got to go," he hissed, "Snufflegint's coming!"

Hermione was looking slightly distraught. "But I haven't got it open, yet!"

Harry took the spellbook from her and placed it back on the shelf.

"Never mind!" he said. "We can come back another time!"

Hermione locked the cupboard doors and, stuffing the luminous toadstool back into her robes, hurried  
over to the window. Harry picked the Firebolt up, and as Hermione pushed the window open, he turned  
and looked back at the cupboard. The Monkey King was still standing next to it, watching them. Then,  
it reached one long arm out and opened the cupboard doors. It stuck its arm through the glass dome,  
as if it wasn't there, and calmly took the yellow bundle and the bronze vessel out.

Harry and Hermione stood where they were for a moment, staring open-mouthed at the monkey. Then  
Hermione snatched her wand out and hurried back to the cupboard.

"Hermione, there's no time!" whispered Harry frantically, automatically reaching into his robes for the  
Map again. Hermione, however, had taken hold of the silk bundle, and was bending over it.

Harry unrolled the Map, his hands shaking slightly, and saw that Snufflegint had reached the bottom  
of the Astronomy Tower.

"He's coming up!" he hissed.

Hermione had lit her wand, and Harry saw that she had duplicated the bronze vessel as well as the  
scroll. She examined the copy of the scroll she had just made, then shook her head. Extinguishing her  
wand, she gave the duplicate one tap, and it disappeared. She then bent over the original, and tried  
again.

Heart thumping, Harry came over to her. Another look at the Map showed that Snufflegint was halfway  
up.

Hermione was now examining the second copy, and finally seemed satisfied. Tucking the items carefully  
inside her robes, she then took the originals and held them out to the monkey, indicating it should return  
them to the glass dome.

The monkey looked at her with bright eyes, then suddenly flew up in the air and hovered upside down  
playfully, still gazing at her.

"Oh, please," moaned Hermione, under her breath. She looked imploringly at the monkey, as Harry  
checked the Map again.

"He's almost reached this floor," he whispered.

The Monkey King suddenly fell to earth again, and taking the bundle from Hermione with one hand,  
pursed its lips and pointed at its mouth with the other.

Hermione stared at it in horror, and shook her head.

Harry was feeling too panicky to laugh.

"Hermione, if that's what it'll take, just do it, and let's get out of here!"

Hermione, looking sick, screwed her eyes shut, leaned forward, and kissed the monkey on the lips.

The monkey gave a whoop and flew up in the air, and then, swooping over to the cupboard, deftly  
placed the vessel and scroll back inside the dome, and closed the cupboard doors.

Harry and Hermione were already heading for the window. They could hear Snufflegint's footsteps  
in the corridor outside, approaching the door. As Harry hovered the Firebolt outside the window, he  
turned and saw the Monkey King disappearing with a soft Pop! Hermione closed the window with a  
snap, and then, covered with the Invisibility Cloak, they flew swiftly back to Gryffindor Tower, their  
hearts still beating fast.

One look at the scroll told Harry that it was the same one he'd seen in Liu Pei's office. Snufflegint  
must have been restoring it, for some of the dirt had been removed, and more of the star-map was  
visible. The bronze vessel was shaped like a small vase. They couldn't make anything out of it; there  
was nothing on it to indicate it had anything to do with the scroll, for they couldn't read the inscriptions  
on it.

Shan, Robert and Ron came into the common room about half an hour later, having got away from  
the dinner table as soon as they politely could. They looked relieved when they discovered the  
operation had been successful, and Snufflegint none the wiser.

"So that's the scroll," said Ron, looking at it. "Couldn't you have duplicated it alone, and not the dirt,  
as well?"

"You think it's so easy!" said Hermione, crossly. "I'd like to see you do it!"

Robert was looking at the bronze vessel.

"I don't know much about bronzes, and I've got to learn ancient Chinese script now, as well," he said.  
"I've been leaving most of the translating to Chee Chong. I'll restore the scroll first, and in the meantime,  
we can get some books from the Tian-Long library."

"Can you?" asked Hermione, rather anxiously.

Shan nodded.

"We brought a library catalogue along," she said, "in case we needed any books for our assignments.  
They can be delivered by dragon post, if not too heavy."

Robert went off to the boys' dormitory, and presently came back with a large roll of parchment.  
Taking his Chinese brush, he wrote several Chinese characters on it, and then tapped it with his  
wand. The characters faded, and then other small, fine characters began appearing, filling almost  
the entire scroll.

"Unfortunately, the book on bronzes which looks most useful is in the Restricted Section," said  
Robert, after scanning through the scroll's contents. He began copying some of the titles onto  
another sheet of parchment. "We need a teacher's signature for that. We'll just borrow the  
other books first, and worry about this one later."

He handed the note to Harry, and then kept the scroll, saying he'd get started on it as soon  
as possible. Harry went to the owlery to send Hedwig off with the note, hoping, as he watched  
her fly away, that Lady Wen-Li wouldn't wonder why the Tian-Long students had developed  
a sudden interest in bronze vessels.

The Christmas holidays soon came to an end, and the castle became noisy and bustling again  
as all the students came back for the new term. On the first day of school, as they went down  
to the dungeons for Potions, Harry found himself hoping that Jeanne would turn up to conduct  
the exchange class again, instead of Snape.

However, once they entered the classroom, they saw that Snape was already there. He had a  
sour expression on his face, and Harry guessed he wasn't enthusiastic about having to teach the  
exchange class.

Snape waited until they had taken their seats, and then stood staring at them, his eyes glittering  
strangely. The Chinese students sat staring back at him, looking rather nervous.

"So, it appears I have to waste my time teaching this class," whispered Snape. He picked up  
the register and took their attendance, frowning at each of the Tian-Long students as he matched  
name to face.

"You! Wong!" he suddenly said, looking at Chee Chong. "Tell me which mammal's organ is  
used in the remedy for snakebite."

Harry didn't know the answer, himself. He turned and looked at Chee Chong, who was sitting  
at the table to his right, and saw that he was looking apologetically at Snape.

"I do not know, sir," he said.

Snape's eyes narrowed.

"What would a fusion of vulture's gall and dragon's tail be used to treat?"

Chee Chong looked even more abashed. Harry looked around, and saw all the Hogwarts  
students looking blank as well, except for Hermione, who had raised her hand. After a brief  
pause, Chee Chong said again, "I do not know, sir."

Snape smiled unpleasantly.

"What is cynocephalia used for?"

Hermione raised her hand even higher.

Chee Chong's face was red, now. He looked at Snape, and remaining silent, just shook  
his head.

"So," said Snape softly, ignoring Hermione, "this is an exchange programme, and you think  
you may come here with little or no preparation. I have the privilege of informing you that  
this class will be different. There will be a test at the end of the month, and ten demerits will  
be awarded to every Tian-Long student who fails."

Chee Chong looked shamefaced, while the rest of the class looked indignant. Snape, seeing  
this, said silkily, "Ten points will be deducted from Gryffindor, too, for every Hogwarts  
student who does not pass."

The Hogwarts students all glared angrily at him. Snape, however, ignored them, and stood  
staring at the Chinese students with a faint sneer on his face.

"Pathetic," he whispered, "Is the standard at Tian-Long so low? Can not even one of you  
answer my questions?"

The Tian-Long students all turned to look at Robert. Robert hesitated, and glanced at Chee  
Chong, obviously reluctant to humiliate him.

Chee Chong said something in Chinese to Robert. Robert turned, and looked at Snape.

"The rennet of a fawn can be used to treat snakebite," he said. "Vulture's gall and dragon's  
tail is used to cure epilepsy. Cynocephalia is a safeguard against most poisons."

Snape's eyes narrowed, his eyes falling on Robert's nametag.

"What would a mixture of betony and githrife be used for?"

Robert returned his gaze, his glasses reflecting the surroundings.

"It allows an individual to consume alcohol without becoming intoxicated."

Snape frowned. "Why is vervain never added to a solution of henbane and white hellebore?"

"Henbane and white hellebore are normally used to cure fever," said Robert. "Adding vervain  
to the solution makes the patient hallucinate."

"Name the herbs used in the production of sedatives."

"Henbane, harewort, hedgerife and fennel."

Snape looked at Robert, his eyes glittering coldly.

"It appears that we have two know-it-alls in this class," he said, "except that Mr Mo, unlike  
Miss Granger, does not feel the need to endlessly show off."

Hermione flushed, and looked at the floor. Snape abruptly reached a hand out, and gave  
Robert's glasses a sharp tap with his wand.

"I expect you to wear normal glasses whenever you appear in this class," he snapped.

He tossed the register aside, and then instructed them to prepare a Shrivelling Solution.

The Tian-Long students, still unused to some of the ingredients used in the west, fumbled a  
bit, except for Robert, who managed to find time to help Shan out as well. Harry saw Shan  
smiling at Robert, who looked much nicer now that his glasses were like normal ones. Ten  
minutes later, Chee Chong made one of his windmill gestures and knocked his cauldron clean  
off the table, and onto the floor.

"Blundering idiot!" snapped Snape, clearing the mess with one wave of his wand. "It appears  
that Longbottom has competition."

Pixie, seated next to Ron, was in trouble. Her solution was turning blood red instead of blue,  
and she had accidentally cut her finger while chopping her roots.

Snape, noticing her predicament, came over.

"Ah, the redoubtable Miss Pei," he said, looking from the red solution to her frustrated face.  
"Your esteemed Potions teacher in Tian-Long has told me much about you." He flicked a  
glance at Ron. "Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, for not helping her properly."

Pixie flushed. The implication that Lady Han-Yin had told Snape how poor she was at Potions  
rankled.

"Lady Han-Yin would never say anything like that about me!" she said heatedly. "And this has  
nothing to do with Ron. If you're so anxious to punish someone, you might as well punish me!"

Snape's mouth curved into an unpleasant smile. He came right up to her table, and stood staring  
down at her.

"Very well," he said, his eyes glinting, "The other teachers have all been very lax with you, but I  
shall take this class in hand. I will not tolerate discourtesy from any student, Chinese or otherwise.  
You will sit alone in that corner and work on your solution until you get it right, after which you  
will come and see me, and I will arrange a detention for you."

"Hold on a minute!" said Ron indignantly, "That's completely unfair! She hasn't done anything to  
deserve that!"

"Five points from Gryffindor for insolence, Weasley," said Snape coolly. "And if you open your  
mouth again, I will double the length of your little friend's detention."

This successfully shut Ron up. Pixie, still looking angry, gathered her things and moved to the back  
of the classroom. The rest of the class continued working in silence, darting sympathetic glances at  
her, and angry looks at Snape.

"Spiteful git!" said Ron angrily, as they left the classroom, where Pixie was still valiantly trying to  
resurrect her solution, "I shouldn't have sat next to her, fat lot of help I was, in the end."

Their next hour was free, so Harry waited with Ron outside the classroom for Pixie to come out.  
Shan, seeing them, gave them a sympathetic smile as she and Robert went past. Harry noted that  
Robert's glasses had reverted to their usual reflecting state.

Snape came out half an hour later, with Pixie trailing behind him. Snape had a smug expression on  
his face. Pixie's anger seemed to have subsided, and her face was now rather pale. She looked at  
Ron as she passed, but did not smile.

"C'mon, Ron," said Harry, as the two disappeared down the corridor toward Snape's office,  
"There's nothing you can do. We've got to go for Lupin's class soon."

Ron stood watching until Pixie and Snape disappeared inside the office, then turned and followed  
Harry, still looking angry and worried.

Shan and Robert arrived late for the first Defence Against the Dark Arts exchange class of the new  
term, and Harry suspected that Shan had almost decided not to come. Her coolness to Jeanne had  
not extended to Professor Lupin, and she had got along very well with him during the first month of  
the exchange programme in Hogwarts. However, ever since that night on the Plateau, she had  
become very shy of him, and would go red and stare at the floor whenever she happened to pass  
him along the corridor, or look embarrassed if anyone mentioned his name.

Lupin, having probably noticed her behaviour and guessed her problem, kindly left her alone for  
the time being. They had been concentrating on Dark creatures for most of the programme so far,  
and he had brought a Grindylow along with him that day. Robert, who had been seated at the back  
of the classroom together with Shan, came up to the front to examine it when the class ended,  
obviously pleased to meet a real-life Grindylow at last.

As the students began leaving the room for their next class, Lupin made a small gesture at Harry,  
indicating he wanted to talk to him.

Lupin waited till Robert had finished with the Grindylow, and then quietly asked Harry, "How is  
Shan getting along?"

Harry glanced at the back of the classroom, and saw Shan disappearing out the door with Robert.

"OK, I guess," he said. "We never talk about - what happened. I think Robert would know better  
than me."

Lupin looked thoughtfully at him for a moment.

"Fatty and Pixie have been spending the last few weeks of the programme trying to persuade me  
to catch a Boggart, for this class," he said. "It seems that Seamus and Dean have been regaling  
them with enthusiastic accounts of the previous Boggarts they have fought with, and they are now  
extremely keen to meet one."

Harry looked at Lupin, wondering what he was trying to say.

"I don't think Shan is ready to meet a Boggart yet, Harry," said Lupin, looking intently at him,  
"which is why I have purposely not included one in any of the lessons. However I am aware that  
Dean and the others have been keeping an eye out for one, and they are quite capable of capturing  
a Boggart by themselves now, if they happen to come across one in the grounds. If that happens,  
I want you to keep Shan away from it."

"But - how?" said Harry. "I might not even be there when they find it."

"They will likely keep it till they've gathered all the Tian-Long students together, in which case you'd  
most likely be there as well," replied Lupin. "If not, it can't be helped, I suppose."

He looked out the window, his expression sober, and gave a small sigh. He then smiled and nodded  
at Harry, to indicate he could leave, and began to pack his things away.

Pixie did not turn up in the Great Hall for lunch, but they found her later in the Gryffindor common  
room, looking slightly subdued. When they asked her what had happened, she said that Snape had  
given her some Potions ingredients to sort out and keep away.

"Probably all the squishiest and most evil-smelling stuff," said Ron, looking at the brown stains on her  
fingers, which had refused to wash off. "Well, at least it's over."

"Not really," said Pixie, in a rather odd voice, "I didn't finish sorting everything. I could tell Professor  
Snape wasn't pleased. I said I would come back another day and finish it."

"What?" said Ron. "_Why?_"

Pixie didn't look at him. She seemed rather distracted.

"I want to show him I can finish what I've started."

Ron flicked a look of disbelief at Harry, who was nearby, listening.

"All because Lady Han-Yin told him you were poor at Potions?" he said, incredulously. "So what?  
Who cares what he thinks?"

Pixie gave a small sigh, and didn't reply. Seeing Parvati and Lavendar entering the room, she gave  
him a small smile, and then went over to join them.

Ron stood watching her, looking nonplussed and rather worried.

"Snape's done something to her," he muttered to Harry, ten minutes later when she'd gone up to the  
girls' dormitory to get something. "I'd better keep a sharp eye on her, from now on."

The library books from Tian-Long arrived a week later. Robert, after skimming through several,  
seemed to pick up ancient Chinese script without any effort, and having restored a bit more of  
the scroll, told Harry and the others whatever he could, for the moment.

"These red squares are seals, and the characters inside them are names," he said, indicating a  
string of faint red squares running along one side of the scroll. "This probably means the scroll  
has changed hands many times. Each new owner normally likes to stamp his own seal on."

"Whose names are they?" asked Harry.

"The majority have the surname _Wu_," said Robert, "so it looks as though the scroll was kept in  
a family with that surname for some time, and handed down from father to son. Then it must have  
been lost or stolen, because other names appear after a while. I'm guessing that eventually  
someone stole it for, or gave it to, the Emperor, so that it ended up in the Imperial Archives."

He paused for a moment, looking at the scroll.

"Only one name looks familiar," he said, "and that is _Wu-Hsien_. He may have been the author of  
the scroll, because his seal is faintest, and is situated on its own at the bottom here. His name also  
seems to appear in the main text." He pointed at two Chinese characters, vaguely visible through  
the dirt on the scroll.

Hermione looked intrigued. "Who is he?"

"He was an astronomer who lived during the Tang Dynasty," said Robert. "If it's him, that is. There  
are probably many people with a similar name. There's a book in Tian-Long that might tell us more  
about him, but it's also in the Restricted Section."

Ron was looking at the bronze vessel. "What about this?"

"It may not have anything to do with the scroll," said Robert, "It's a Western Chou Dynasty bronze.  
The books we've borrowed aren't that detailed, so I haven't been able to figure out the inscriptions  
yet, except for a name, _Wang Lao_, which doesn't appear on the scroll."

Hermione was referring to one of her books on Chinese history.

"The Western Chou Dynasty lasted from the 11th to the 7th Century B.C.," she said, "That means,  
if Wu-Hsien was the author, the vessel is at least 1400 years older than the scroll."

"Or more," agreed Robert, "I'll have to restore the rest of the scroll first, before we can know whether  
the two are related in any way."

Shan, who had been sitting quietly, listening, since Robert had already discussed all this with her, now  
spoke up.

"I guess that means we have to get those books from the Restricted Section," she said. "But we need a  
teacher's signature."

They looked at each other.

"How about writing to one of the Tian-Long teachers?" suggested Harry.

Shan and Robert shook their heads.

"We would have to ask our Astronomy Master, because it would be very odd to ask one of the other  
teachers if we can borrow an Astronomy book," said Shan. "And our Astronomy Master will know  
straight away that there's nothing in those books that have anything to do with our current assignments."

"Well, what then?" said Ron. "We can't pretend we want it for our Hogwarts assignments. Even if we  
tell Sinistra that we want it for general knowledge, she's sure to ask Snufflegint about it, and he'll guess  
at once that we know about the scroll and vessel."

Shan and Robert looked at each other, and smiled.

"Robert and I were discussing this earlier," said Shan, looking as though she was trying not to laugh,  
"and we thought that maybe we could ask Professor Trelawney."

"What?" said Ron, "Why _her_?"

"It makes sense, actually," said Hermione thoughtfully, "We're supposed to be looking at the movements  
of the stars, these two weeks."

"Yes, we can say we want it for general knowledge," said Shan. "You know, look at it from the Chinese  
viewpoint, as well."

"Fine, but will she agree?" said Harry, "Especially as all of us here aren't keen about Divination at all."

"We must put her in a good mood," said Shan, her eyes glinting, "Predict a really catastrophic event is  
going to happen; maybe one of us could pretend to have a premonition, have a fit and roll around on  
the floor, or something like that."

Harry noticed that both she and Robert were looking at him.

"Hold on a minute," he said, "Surely you're not suggesting that _I _pretend to have the fit."

Shan and Robert grinned at him.

"You're her favourite, Harry," said Shan, persuasively. "I've noticed she loves it when you make dire  
predictions about yourself. You can - you can pretend your scar is hurting, or something."

"No way!" said Harry. "Why _me_? What about Robert? She picks on him too!"

"I can't act," said Robert, with perfect truth.

Harry turned to Ron and Hermione. Ron was keeping quiet, obviously not wanting to oppose Harry,  
but he couldn't help grinning, as if he thought the idea very funny. Hermione, too, seemed to be trying  
not to look amused.

"We have to admit, Professor Trelawney is the only teacher here who might fall for this," she pointed  
out. "None of the other teachers are that gullible."

Harry glared at her. Ron, feeling obliged to help him out, tried to change the subject.

"Is that all that can be made out from the scroll?" he asked.

"I can only make out a few other words, besides Wu-Hsien's name," said Robert, bending over the  
scroll again, "The scroll is in such poor condition that I can only restore it slowly, or it might fall apart.  
These characters" - he pointed at another part of the scroll - "look like the words for 'Great Occurrence'."

All of them leaned forward, and bent their heads over the scroll.

"Great Occurrence?" said Hermione, "Is something going to happen?"

"We can't tell, until I restore the rest of the scroll," said Robert, patiently.

Harry looked at the scroll, at the two characters which were supposed to make up the name "Wu-Hsien".  
He then looked up, and saw that the others were all looking at him.

"Why do I need to throw a fit, or anything?" he protested. "We can just chirk her up with a few depressing  
predictions, and then ask her to sign the letter."

"Well, we want to make sure," said Shan. "If we haven't convinced her enough or she's in a bad mood,  
she'll say no, and we won't have any more chances."

Harry looked at them. Even Ron was grinning away at him.

"Give me some time to think it over," he said. "There has to be a less ridiculous way to get hold of those  
books."

- 


	23. The Boggart

Thanks to those who reviewed. Here is Harry and his fit. There's more than that,   
to this chapter, though. Hope you like it! ~ Kim

------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------  


**Chapter XXIII**

**_The Boggart_**

  
_Come life, come death, not a word be said;  
Should I lose you living, and vex you dead?  
I never shall tell you on earth; and in heaven,  
If I cry to you then, will you hear or know?_

_~ A.C. Swinburne  
_

**I**n the end, what made Harry's mind up was Chee Chong's announcement that Professor  
Snufflegint would be returning to China in a week's time, and that he wanted the Imperial  
scrolls restored within that period so that he could bring them back with him.

Harry received this piece of news with mixed feelings. This meant that if Snufflegint wanted  
to harm Jeanne, he was going to do it within the week. Or, if he didn't harm her, it meant he  
would soon be gone, and Harry wouldn't have to worry about him spying on Jeanne any more.

It also meant that Snufflegint had probably finished restoring Liu Pei's scroll, and had found  
out what he wanted to know. Was he going back to China because the Great Occurrence  
was going to take place there? Why had he come to Hogwarts in the first place? If he had  
been the one who had stolen the scroll from Liu Pei's office, he could have restored it easily  
enough back at Tian-Long. Unless, someone else had slipped the scroll in with the other  
Imperial scrolls, and Snufflegint had come to Hogwarts to retrieve it. Or had he come to  
Britain to spy on Jeanne?

With so little time left, Harry wanted some answers fast, and he decided that they'd better  
get the books from the Restricted Section, however remote the chance was that they'd find  
anything useful in them.

"Good luck," murmured Hermione, as they made their way to their seats during the next  
Divination class. Harry, unsure of producing a convincing enough performance, had asked  
her to step on his hand, if necessary, if he wasn't groaning loudly enough.

They had fabricated some really dismal predictions for themselves that week, and read them  
out as solemnly as they could, with the exception of Robert who persisted in reading his very  
matter-of-factly, as if it were a shopping list. Professor Trelawney seemed both surprised and  
moved. By the time she came to Hermione, who for once wasn't looking scornful, she was  
close to tears.

"My dears," she said in her misty voice, pulling out a gauzy handkerchief and dabbing her eyes,  
"It appears, indeed, that the portents for this month are not good winter is always a bleak  
period. But we must endure spring, with all its tender mercies, will eventually reign again."

She moved on to Neville. Ron, turning to look at Harry, mouthed "_Now_!"

Harry took a breath, and then, falling to the floor, began writhing and yelling as loudly as he  
could, clutching his head in his hands.

Parvati and Lavendar cried out in fright, while Professor Trelawney gave a small scream and  
turned around. Fatty, Chee Chong and Pixie sat where they were, startled, as Ron and Hermione  
jumped up and hurried over to Harry, trying their best to look worried.

"Harry!" Hermione grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him, "Snap out of it! What's the matter?"

Professor Trelawney, seeing what was happening, came rapidly over.

"Allow me, Miss Granger!" she cried, "I have experience in such matters! Potter is undoubtedly the  
recipient of some unworldly premonition. Let me minister to him!"

Harry had stopped yelling, and was now lying on his back, looking blearily up at them.

"Keep groaning," whispered Ron, before making way for Professor Trelawney.

Harry groaned again, but very half-heartedly. Hermione, screwing her eyes shut, brought her foot  
down on his left hand, which he had flung to one side so that it was hidden under a tablecloth.  
Harry winced, and his groans became more convincing.

Professor Trelawney was now kneeling next to him, an eager gleam in her eyes, which looked even  
more enormous than ever.

"Arise, Potter!" she cried. "The dark night has passed! Relax your tense limbs, and let yourself be  
receptive to the clairvoyant vibrations in this room!"

She caught hold of Harry's shoulder, and held it in a vice-like grip, as if afraid he would run away.  
Harry winced, and groaned again, more realistically this time.

He sat up, and let Professor Trelawney help him to a chair, still grasping his shoulder.

"Now tell us, Potter," she said, fixing her huge eyes on him, "exactly what you saw and felt."

Harry took a breath.

"I saw an old fortress, in ruins," he muttered, carefully avoiding Ron's eye, "bats were pouring out  
of it. And there was a stormthunder and lightning"

"An omen of ill-intent!" said Professor Trelawney, her nostrils quivering slightly. "Continue, my dear!"

"And then - I felt a blinding pain in my head," said Harry, "And I heard a snarling voice in my ears - "

"The sign of Great Evil, my dears!" cried Professor Trelawney, looking at the rest of the class, who  
had gathered around Harry and were listening breathlessly. "A terrible Event approaches!"

Lavendar put a hand to her mouth, and gave a frightened gasp. Professor Trelawney turned, and  
looked expectantly at Harry again.

"I closed my eyes, because of the pain, and when I opened them I found myself in the fortress,"  
continued Harry, "and this three-legged demon was there, in front of me all covered with slime"

"The foul Mirkindole!" cried Professor Trelawney, becoming more and more excited. "The  
accursed beast who lurks in the shadows, and snares human prey for its repasts!"

Harry's eyes suddenly met Shan's, and he felt an uncontrollable desire to laugh. He looked  
away, and found he had forgotten what he was supposed to say next.

He closed his eyes. He had rehearsed it, five times that morning, with Hermione

"Courage, Potter!" said Professor Trelawney, catching his shoulder in her pincer-like grip  
again. "Do not leave us! Awaken, and finish your tale!"

Harry opened his eyes; he decided he'd had enough. "I can't remember the rest."

Professor Trelawney looked disappointed. Harry hastily said, "I think the demon came up to  
me, and stared at me, and thenI passed out again, because of the pain. That's all."

He slumped back in his chair, trying to look despondent and worn out.

Professor Trelawney looked commiseratingly at him.

"Peace, Potter," she said, patting his hand, "The ordeal has passed. Your vision tallies with  
what I have already foreseen for you pain and suffering fear of your deadly enemy   
the shadow of the Grim, always hovering over you "

She gave a deep sigh, and gazed sorrowfully at Harry, then stood up and looked around at  
the other students.

"We shall end here for today," she said mistily, a melancholy expression on her face, "and let  
Potter recover from his harrowing experience. Potter, I shall ponder the profound consequences  
of this premonition, and divulge my conclusions to you during our next class."

"Good job," muttered Ron, coming over with Hermione, who was looking apologetic.

"Sorry if I hurt you, Harry."

"Forget it," said Harry, and turned to Shan, who was standing nearby with Robert, holding the  
letter which they had already prepared. "Let's get that signed, and get out of here."

He took the letter from Shan, and hurried after Professor Trelawney, who was moving to the  
other end of the room.

"Professor?" he said, holding out the letter. "Some of us would like to do additional research   
since this is a cultural exchange, and we're studying the movements of the planets we'd like  
to borrow some books from the Restricted Section of the Tian-Long library, so that we can  
compare both Chinese and Western methods."

Professor Trelawney looked extremely moved.

"Potter, your diligence is astounding," she said, signing the letter without even looking at it,  
"Displaying such determination even after what you endured today it saddens me, that one  
endowed with courage should be destined to meet such a fate as I have foreseen for you "

She returned the letter to him, and left them, holding her hand to her chest, as if clutching at her  
heart, and still looking moved.

"Done it!" said Shan, looking delighted. "Harry, you were marvellous!"

"OK," said Harry, handing the letter to her, "I've done my part, time for you to do yours."

They were in a hurry to get the books, as they wanted to find out what Snufflegint was up to  
before he left, so Shan had volunteered to transform into a Silverwing, and Apparate back to  
Tian-Long to get the books.

"Chen-Kang will get them for me, he owes me a favour or two," she had told Harry. "He's  
discreet, and he won't ask what it's for. I'll be back in time for Defence Against the Dark Arts."

Ron and Hermione, who didn't know that Shan could transform, were curious to know how  
they were to get the books on time, but seeing there was some secret, had decided to be tactful  
and not ask.

---------* * *---------

  
Pixie felt a chill settle into her bones. Snape's office was even creepier than the Potions classroom,  
and mould appeared to be growing on the walls. The room was full of shadows, and the sightless  
eyes of pickled animals stared out at her from the shelves of jars which lined the walls.

Pixie had a horror of all things and places dark and slimy. Although no one at home seemed to  
have any time for her and she often felt lonely there, still her parents' house was bright and cheerful,  
and filled with the beautiful objects of her father's trade. In Tian-Long, the classrooms were all  
pleasant enough, and although there existed regions under the school which were less appealing -  
as Harry had discovered - she managed to avoid those as far as possible. The Potions classes in  
Hogwarts she had tolerated so far, because Ron and the others were there, and Jeanne managed  
to make the lessons fairly entertaining. But to be all alone in Snape's office, without her friends  
around, was decidedly unsettling.

Snape wasn't around at the moment, having gone off for one of his classes. Pixie carefully removed  
the sting from the tail of a scorpion. She glanced at the clock, and saw that there were still fifteen  
minutes left before she'd have to go for Defence Against the Dark Arts.

She had initially felt she hated Snape, and when her detention ended that first day she would  
probably have felt a great relief and vowed never to step foot in that office again, if Jeanne had  
not happened to come in, carrying a box of potions ingredients.

Pixie's first reaction was one of relief when she saw Jeanne. It was some consolation, at least, to  
have a fellow human being in the room with her, even for a few minutes. She was also secretly  
hoping Jeanne might persuade Snape to let her off.

Jeanne looked surprised to see Pixie sitting in a corner, but a few words with Snape soon  
explained the situation to her. She gave Pixie a sympathetic smile, then began to unpack and  
store away the ingredients.

Pixie noted that Jeanne seemed quite familiar with Snape's office and knew where everything  
should be kept. Having emptied her box, she was about to leave, when Snape called her over  
to the desk and began discussing the progress of Lady Han-Yin's Tian-Long project with her.

The terms they were using were so technical that Pixie wasn't sure what they were talking about.  
She wondered how Jeanne, who was no more than the gamekeeper's assistant, seemed to know  
so much about Potions. She continued extracting the tongues from preserved salamanders and  
keeping them away in small jars, only half-listening to the conversation.

After a few minutes, Jeanne and Snape finished their discussion of the project, and then Snape  
went on to talk about other things - the way the school was being run, how badly some of the  
classes were being taught, what he would do if he were in charge, what a mess the Ministry of  
Magic was in, among others. Pixie found herself listening and watching. Snape criticised the way  
Jeanne had taught the Potions exchange class. He had plenty to say about Professor Lupin, and  
made no effort to hide how much he loathed him. Jeanne listened in silence, a neutral expression  
on her face, and only a slight flicker of anger in her eyes betrayed the fact that some of the cutting  
and hurtful remarks disturbed her.

Pixie had forgotten about the salamander tongues. She watched Jeanne putting up with Snape.  
She watched Snape talking. From the way he looked at Jeanne, it seemed that he almost hated her,  
and yet at the same time he was like a dam bursting, as if he harboured a desire to communicate all  
the feelings and plans and ambitions that he had, to another person

Snape talked for about twenty minutes. Jeanne said less than ten words in reply. Snape ended by  
looking impatient, and saying he was busy, implying Jeanne was encroaching on his time and should  
leave. Jeanne said quietly that she would check if any more bats had frozen in a cave somewhere in  
the grounds, since he wanted bats' intestines for the project. She then turned, and left.

Snape turned and frowned at Pixie, who quickly looked down and began extracting tongues again.  
She looked up at Snape every now and then. He was sitting at the desk, staring sourly at the project  
report on it. Pixie had the impression that Snape thought the project a waste of his time, even though  
Lady Han-Yin was doing most of the work back in Tian-Long. She finished extracting and putting  
away the salamanders' tongues, and then turned to a huge pile of scorpions. She knew she'd never  
be able to finish it within the day.

She had only managed to remove ten scorpions' stings when Snape suddenly snapped at her to get  
out, because it was lunchtime and her time was up. She looked up at the sallow face, at those eyes  
which always had that awful glitter in them, but which never betrayed any sign of emotion.

Her offer to come back another day and finish the scorpions was received with a curt, almost  
indifferent nod. She left the room, but didn't go to the Great Hall; instead she went up to the  
Gryffindor common room, which was empty, still thinking about Snape's conversation with  
Jeanne, which for some reason disturbed her.

  
---------* * *---------

  
Defence Against the Dark Arts was going to start soon, and Shan had still not returned. Robert,  
who was painstakingly restoring Liu Pei's duplicated scroll in the common room, told Harry to go  
first, saying he would wait a bit longer for her.

As Harry came down the corridor, he saw Seamus and Dean carrying a large packing-case into  
the classroom : a packing-case that shook and wobbled, as if something inside was trying to free  
itself and come out

Harry looked at his watch; Lupin should be coming any minute. He hurried toward the classroom,  
hoping that Shan wouldn't make it back in time for the lesson.

Neville, Fatty and Chee Chong were already there, looking curiously at the box in which the Boggart  
was imprisoned. Seamus was trying to get Chee Chong to say "Riddikulus" without mixing his r's and  
l's up.

Parvati and Lavendar soon came in, and so did Hermione, together with Ron and Pixie. Pixie was  
applying ointment to her hands, and looked rather subdued.

"Professor Lupin said he'd be a bit late," said Lavendar, "I just saw him in the staff room. He's being  
held up by a meeting." She noticed the packing-case. "What's that?"

"Boggart," said Seamus, proudly.

"But, I thought we're doing Red Caps, today," said Parvati.

"Well, we can do those another day," said Dean. "We've been waiting for this Boggart for ages."

They waited for five minutes, and then Harry said,

"Let's just start. Robert said that he and Shan will be coming soon. You've already explained what  
we're to do, and we know how to handle Boggarts, by now." He was hoping they would get rid of  
the Boggart before Shan came.

The others agreed, so Pixie, Fatty, and Chee Chong queued up near the packing-case, the latter  
two looking rather excited.

"OK," said Seamus, and pointed his wand at the packing-case, so that the lid flew off.

A corpse-like zombie stepped out, its limbs and body stinking and decomposed, with a small piece  
of red paper attached to its face. Pixie, who had been standing in front of the packing-case, took a  
step back, her face rather pale. Then, she lifted her wand, and pointed it at the zombie.

"Riddikulus!" she cried. There was a noise like a whip-crack, and the zombie stumbled; it was now  
dressed in frilly pink dress robes, the same ones that Pixie had given Ron for Christmas.

"Fatty, you next," said Seamus, looking excited. Fatty came forward, wand ready in his hand. _Crack_!  
The zombie turned into the ghost that Harry had seen in the tunnel leading to the Lake of Blood.  
Except that this ghost was twelve feet tall, and his face was completely black. His sightless eyes  
stared down at Fatty, boring themselves into him.

At this moment, the door opened, and to Harry's dismay, Shan came in.

"What's happening?" she said, seeing him standing near the door, and then opened her bag with a  
smile to show him that she'd managed to get the books.

"Where's Robert?" asked Harry, wondering desperately if he could 'accidentally' exterminate the  
Boggart before her turn came.

"Outside, talking to Professor Lupin," said Shan. "They'll be coming in in a few minutes."

Harry wanted to go outside and tell Lupin about the Boggart, but he didn't dare leave the classroom  
in case Shan decided to give the Boggart a try. Wishing that Lupin would hurry up and come in, he  
turned, and saw that the dark-faced ghost had now shrunk to the height of a child's doll, and was  
hopping up and down and squeaking in rage.

Chee Chong, looking nervous, came forward. _Crack_! The tiny ghost disappeared, and a large  
demon with three heads and long tentacles appeared. It came toward Chee Chong, its tentacles  
writhing.

Chee Chong had gone very pale. He retreated a few steps, and raised his wand.

"_L-liddikurus_!" he squeaked.

The demon came bearing down on him, a cold light in its pale eyes. Chee Chong, looking alarmed,  
retreated a few more steps, and then stood still, as if paralysed.

Shan was watching Chee Chong with a rather worried look on her face. Before Harry could stop  
her, she suddenly ran forward, pushed Chee Chong aside, and turned to face the demon.

There was a _crack_! and the demon disappeared. A corpse lay on the ground; it was a man, whom  
Harry instinctively knew was Shan's father. His eyes were closed, and he lay, sprawled as if he  
had fallen from a great height, blood staining his robes.

Then the corpse began to transform, into another lifeless form, that of a woman. Harry recognised  
Mrs Chen. Her eyes were wide open and staring, fixed unseeingly on Shan, and there was a look  
of great bitterness and hatred on her face.

Shan stood as if frozen, staring at it. Her face had gone very white. She brought her hands to her  
mouth, and began trembling. Then, she suddenly burst into a storm of loud weeping.

The classroom door flew open, and Professor Lupin came in, with Robert behind him. Lupin took  
the entire scene in with one look, and then strode swiftly over to Shan and pointed his wand at the  
still form on the floor, so that it rose from the ground and flowed back into the packing-case in a  
strange, fluid motion. He put a hand on Shan's shoulder, and she automatically turned and clung to  
him, still sobbing uncontrollably.

Lupin put one arm around her, and his eyes met Harry's.

Harry felt himself shaking slightly. He looked miserably back at Lupin.

"She - she ran forward so fast," he said. "I couldn't stop her."

Lupin shook his head slightly, as if to say it didn't matter, then glanced at the weeping girl.

"I'll bring her outside," he said quietly, looking around at Seamus and the others, who were standing  
nearby with sober faces, and then turned back to Harry. "You might as well finish the lesson with the  
Boggart. I know you and the other Hogwarts students can handle it on your own." Then he turned  
and led Shan, still weeping, out of the room.

Seamus and the others watched as they disappeared out the door, looking startled and dismayed.  
Harry felt terrible. Lupin probably thought he was hopeless; he hadn't even been able to keep Shan  
away from the Boggart.

Dean and Seamus turned back to Chee Chong, and tried to get him to perfect his pronunciation of  
"riddikulus" again. Robert was standing as if rooted to the spot, staring at the door which Shan had  
just gone through, his face pale.

"I - I've never seen her cry like that, before," he said, sounding rather shaken, when Harry came  
over to him. Hermione, too, was coming over.

Robert continued to stare at the door. Harry looked uncertainly at him for a moment, then said,  
"D'you - d'you want to have a go with the Boggart?"

Robert suddenly turned, and looked at the packing-case. With one silent, awful movement, he lifted  
his hand and pointed a finger at it, and it immediately exploded violently into flames. Then he made  
a gesture at Shan's bag, which was lying on the ground nearby, and it flew over to him. Holding both  
Shan's and his own things, he turned, and left the room without a word.

Harry looked at what was left of the packing-case. The flames were rapidly dying down, and soon  
nothing but small pieces of ash were left.

Ron and the others were watching, stunned.

"What did he do that for!" said Seamus, half-startled, half-annoyed. "We haven't finished with the  
Boggart yet!"

Chee Chong was looking crestfallen. The others stood around for a few moments, looking at a loss,  
then, since the Boggart had obviously been obliterated, started collecting their things and leaving the  
room. Pixie said something to Ron, then picked her bag up and followed suit.

Ron came over to Harry and Hermione, looking gloomy.

"She's gone off to Snape's office again," he said. "What's with Robert, anyway? Over-reacting a bit,  
isn't he?"

Hermione was looking at the small pile of ashes on the floor with a rather odd expression in her eyes.

"Oh, Ron," she said softly, "don't you see - he's in love with Shan."

There was a silence for a few seconds, as Harry and Ron both turned to look at her.

"What?" said Ron, "Robert? C'mon, Hermione, the guy's hardly human - he never shows any emotion!"

Hermione looked as if she regretted saying anything.

"Did he tell you that?" asked Harry quietly.

"No," she said, rather hesitantly, as if unsure whether to tell them or not, "Jeanne told me. She said that  
Sang Nila told her, while we were still in Tian-Long. Sang Nila knows everything about Robert."

"That Merlion?" said Ron incredulously. "Who'd believe anything it says?"

"Explain what we just saw, then," said Hermione, impatiently. "Why d'you think he carries that book  
that she gave him around all the time? You're so dense, Ron; you don't understand anything about people."

Harry had recently decided he didn't want to have Shan as anything more than a friend. He knew that  
she only regarded him as such, anyway. Even so, he felt a sudden pang in his heart, and a loneliness  
spread over him.

"Well, in that case, bully for Robert," said Ron sourly, glancing at Harry. Ron was still harbouring hopes  
that Harry and Shan would get together. "He's always with her anyway, isn't he? Nothing to stand in his  
way."

Hermione said nothing, but looked sadly at the pile of ashes on the floor, then picked her bag up and  
left the room. Harry watched her, feeling rather confused. Of course, Robert cared for Shan. That  
had been obvious all along - he was, after all, her cousin. But this put things in a different light.

He left the room with Ron, feeling rather uncomfortable. They passed a flight of steps that led down  
to the dungeons, and Ron, glancing at it, looked gloomy.

"Tell you, Snape's bewitched her, Harry," he said, referring to Pixie. "She's been going to his office,  
almost every other day."

Harry didn't reply; he was still thinking about Shan and Robert. Malfoy was still making annoying  
comments about Harry and Shan, because he knew it made Harry uncomfortable, and although he  
always did it out of earshot of Robert, Harry felt sure the news was capable of filtering down to the  
latter. Some of the Gryffindors, especially the girls, also seemed to assume Harry and Shan were a  
couple, and kept giggling and making silly remarks. If Sang Nila was right, then how would Robert  
feel when hearing such comments? He had remained perfectly friendly to Harry, all this time. Jeanne  
could have been mistaken. What could a Merlion know about human feelings anyway?

Shan and Robert didn't turn up for dinner. Harry checked the Marauder's Map, but couldn't find  
them anywhere. He happened to meet Jeanne, and asked her if she knew how Shan was.

"Remus spent some time talking to her," said Jeanne, "I didn't ask him what he said to her. She  
still resents my presence, so I made myself scarce." She looked rather hurt, as she said this.

Harry felt rather worried. "Where is she now?"

"I don't know," said Jeanne. "Remus said she and Robert left our room a while ago. He said Shan  
was all right; she just wanted to go somewhere quiet for a while, and think things out."

Harry, hearing this, guessed that Shan and Robert must have gone to the Plateau. He knew Shan  
liked it there; she had once commented on how serene the place was, and that whenever she  
went there she felt as if all her troubles had been left behind in the tunnel.

Robert didn't come back to the boys' dormitory that night, but both he and Shan appeared in  
the Great Hall the next morning for breakfast. Robert looked his usual calm self, while Shan  
looked composed enough, though her eyes were rather red. They were very quiet throughout  
the meal, and the other students in the exchange class left them alone, unsure what to say to them.

Harry had been so distracted by the previous day's events that it wasn't until he saw Chee Chong  
heading toward the Astronomy Tower that he remembered that Professor Snufflegint was due to  
leave in three days' time. The scroll and its interpretation lay in Shan and Robert's hands, and  
Harry didn't have the heart to badger them about it at present. However, he needn't have worried.  
Shan and Robert promptly took the scroll as an excuse to isolate themselves from the rest of the  
class, and began to spend all their free time in a corner of the Gryffindor common room, restoring  
and translating it.

By the third day, Harry noticed that the entire scroll had been restored. Shan had brought out the  
calculator scroll that she had bought in Dervish and Banges, and Robert seemed to be writing all  
kinds of complicated equations on it, which faded once he tapped the scroll with his wand, to be  
replaced by an answer a few seconds later.

Chee Chong had reported that Snufflegint had left early that morning, and that the chamber and  
his office were now empty. Jeanne was still going around doing her chores, and Harry felt relieved  
that no harm had apparently come to her. He suspected that Robert and Shan had made some kind  
of breakthrough, for they skipped lunch and spent most of the early part of the afternoon looking at  
the scroll and their calculations, softly discussing something in a mixture of English and Chinese.

Harry was tempted to take the Translator out and eavesdrop on them, but resisted. Shan seemed to  
have forgotten her unhappiness; there was a curious light in her eyes, and she was talking animatedly  
to Robert, as if trying to persuade him to do something.

Finally, around four o'clock, they took the scroll and bronze vessel, and disappeared out the portrait  
hole. After about ten minutes, Shan came back in to look for Harry. She seemed her normal cheerful  
self again, and there was an air of suppressed excitement about her.

"Robert and I think we have solved the scroll, Harry," she said. "Get Ron and Hermione, and come  
to the empty classroom at the end of the corridor outside, and we'll show you what we've found."

Harry's heart leapt in excitement, but even as he turned to look for Ron and Hermione, he stopped,  
and looked back at her.

"Are you all right now?" he asked.

She hesitated, then shrugged.

"I guess so," she said. "I had a long talk first with Professor Lupin, then with Robert. I'm working  
on it ... I'll sort it out, eventually."

She looked rather sad as she said this, but then remembered the scroll, and the excited look came  
back into her eyes.

"Call Ron and Hermione quick, Harry," she said, "We don't have much time."

Robert and Shan were sitting on the floor in a corner of the classroom, looking at the scroll, when  
they arrived. Hermione seemed excited, but Ron looked wary. The way in which Robert had  
destroyed the Boggart had unnerved him, and Harry suspected that Ron was secretly rather afraid  
of Robert.

Robert seemed as placid as ever. He brought a sheet of parchment out, and handed it to them.

"It looks as if Wu-Hsien was quite famous in his day," he said. "Several legends seem to have  
gathered around his person. We found a passage that tells a story which possibly shows how  
the vessel and scroll are related; we've written out a translation for you."

Harry, Ron and Hermione bent over the parchment, and began to read.

Wu-Hsien had at one time become very poor, and had had as a neighbour one  
Wang Lao, who often helped him. Wu-Hsien had tried to make some return,  
especially during the Khai-Yuan reign period when he was in high favour with  
the Emperor. Eventually Wang Lao, having killed someone, was imprisoned,  
and called upon Wu-Hsien for help. Wu-Hsien went to see him and said, "If  
you want gold and silver I can give you all you want, but as for the law, I cannot  
change it." Wang Lao reproached him, saying, "What good is it to me that I ever  
knew you", and so they parted.

Later Wu-Hsien was in the Hun-Thien Temple, where there were several hundred  
workers. He ordered some of them to move a huge pot into an empty room. Then  
he said to two servants, "In a certain place there is a ruined garden. Do you hide  
there secretly tomorrow, from noon to midnight. Something will come - if it is seven  
in number, put them in the pot and cover them up, and if you lose one I shall give  
you a great beating." About six o' clock in the evening, sure enough, a herd of seven  
pigs appeared, and they caught them all and put them in the pot, and covered it with  
a wooden cover and matting. Then they ran off and told Wu-Hsien, who was very  
pleased.

Before long Wu-Hsien received a message to go urgently to a certain palace, where  
the Emperor met him and said, "The Head of the Astronomical Bureau has just  
informed me that the Great Bear has disappeared. What can it mean?" Wu-Hsien  
replied, "This sort of thing has happened before. In the Later Wei dynasty they even  
lost the planet Mars. But there are no previous records of the disappearance of the  
Great Bear. Heaven must be giving you an important warning, perhaps of frost or  
drought. But your Majesty, with your great virtue, can influence the stars. What would  
most affect them would be a decision on your part in favour of life rather than death."  
The Emperor agreed, and issued a general amnesty.

Later the seven stars of the Great Bear reappeared in their places in the heavens. And  
when the pot into which the pigs had been put was opened, it was found to be empty.

Ron finished reading first, and looked up.

"Wang Lao's name is on the bronze vessel, isn't it?" he said. "So this means he and Wu-Hsien  
knew each other."

Shan nodded.

"There's more," she said. "Wang Lao was later poisoned by one of his enemies. He took refuge  
in Wu-Hsien's house, where he repented of his misdeeds, and as he was dying he left whatever  
possessions he had to Wu-Hsien, including a collection of old bronze vessels. We're guessing  
that this bronze vessel was one of those."

Harry looked at the vessel. "What do the inscriptions on it say?"

Robert turned the vessel around.

"There's still a lot of dispute as to how these inscriptions are to be interpreted," he said. "I can only  
make a guess. It seems to say, 'I, Wang Lao, was present at the Great Event on - ' and then a date  
is given. I'm estimating that the year is around 1000 B.C., and the month is _Hsiao Han_ - the time  
of lesser cold, which is the first fortnight of January. The day I haven't been able to figure out yet,  
because it's given by a time-recording term."

Seeing the others looking blank, he continued.

"There are several time-recording inscriptions which appear on bronze vessels during the Western  
Chou period," he explained. "They refer to a day based on the observation of a particular lunar phase,  
such as a crescent or a full moon. They were used together with the month and year, to record historical  
events. But so far no one knows which lunar phase these time-recording terms refer to."

Ron looked confused.

"That means, Wang Lao was the one who carved the inscriptions on the vessel," said Hermione.

Robert nodded.

"But, I thought this was a Western Chou bronze!" said Hermione.

"It is," said Shan, smiling.

"But it can't be," protested Hermione.

Harry and Ron turned to look at her. "Why not?"

"Robert said Wu-Hsien lived during the Tang Dynasty," said Hermione. "If Wang Lao lived during the  
Western Chou Dynasty, he would have been more than a thousand years old when he met Wu-Hsien!"

Robert was smiling now. He took another sheet of parchment out, and passed it to them.

"Here's what the scroll itself says," he said. "Maybe you'll understand after you read it."

_I leave you this scroll and vessel behind as my legacy. I, Wu-Hsien, say this to you. When  
Sui-Hsing is in Fang, Tai-Bai is in Wei, and Tai-Yin completely hides her perfect face from  
us, then shall the Great Occurrence take place again. When that day approaches, bring  
your sons and daughters with you to Khun-Lun. Then will our family build a Dynasty, one  
that shall prevail and endure forever._

Harry and Ron looked blank after reading it. Hermione was frowning.

"Khun-Lun," she said. "I've heard of that somewhere"

"Er, I don't get it," said Ron. "What's all that Sui-Hsing and Tai-Yin stuff?"

"Sui-Hsing is Jupiter," said Robert, "Tai-Bai is Venus. Tai-Yin is the moon; Fang and Wei are two  
of the Lunar Mansions."

Harry was trying to collect his thoughts together.

"So, you're saying, the scroll is giving us the position of the planets in the sky when the Great  
Occurrence will take place."

Shan nodded. Hermione's eyes suddenly widened.

"Khun-Lun!" she said. "I remember now the western paradise!" Her eyes grew larger. "So   
_that's_ what Professor Snufflegint is after!"

Shan and Robert grinned, and nodded at her. Harry and Ron were beginning to feel very cross.

"If you don't tell us what's happening soon, I'm going to get violent," said Ron, glaring at them.  
"What? What is Snufflegint after?"

Shan looked solemnly at him.

"Immortality, Ron," she said. "That's what Li-Kai is after. Immortality."

Hermione, seeing that he and Harry still looked blank, continued.

"There's a legend that in Mount Khun-Lun, there grows a peach tree which fruits every three  
thousand years," she said. "Its fruit, when eaten, can give eternal life."

Harry looked at the bronze vessel again.

"You said Wang Lao carved the date 1000 B.C. on the vessel," he said. "That was three  
thousand years ago. Wang Lao must have been present the last time the tree fruited, and  
managed to eat one of the peaches. That's why he was able to live until Wu-Hsien's time,  
when he was poisoned."

Robert nodded.

"So you're saying he told his secret to Wu-Hsien, and Wu-Hsien recorded it in the scroll,  
and passed it down to his sons," said Harry. "He probably figured if his descendants could  
become immortal, they'd have a chance to start a dynasty that would last forever."

Ron's eyes were rather large.

"So, the Tree's going to fruit again?" he said. "When?"

"It's not easy to estimate," said Robert, "We can't tell the exact date the Tree last fruited  
from the vessel because no one knows which lunar phase those time-recording terms refer  
to. We only know that it'll be this year and sometime in early January. However, Wang Lao  
might have given the exact date and time to Wu-Hsien, so that Wu-Hsien was able to calculate  
the time the Tree was going to fruit next. That's what the star-map and the text on the scroll is  
all about."

"Well, that solves it, then," said Ron, looking at the scroll, "You can calculate, can't you, when  
the planets will be in that position?"

Robert took out his sheaf of calculations.

"Not directly from Wu-Hsien," he said. "The methods of prediction during the Tang Dynasty  
weren't very accurate. I've had to calculate backward from the answer he arrived at, using his  
methods, and then calculate forward again to get the correct answer."

Hermione looked excited. "So when is it going to take place?"

"Tonight," said Robert, "anytime between eight and midnight."

Harry's heart sank. There wasn't enough time; they would never be able to figure out how to  
get to Khun-Lun, wherever it was, in time.

"Snufflegint probably knows," he said. "That's why he's gone back to China. He must have  
reached this Khun-Lun place by now, wherever it is."

"What's the use of knowing," said Ron, grumpily. "We can't go to China anyway. Unless,  
someone here can fix up a Portkey to bring us there."

"We don't need to Portkey," said Shan. "And Master Li-Kai isn't as far away as you think.  
He's probably camping out on the Plateau, right now."

They stared at her.

"Are you saying," said Harry, "that one of the trees in the peach orchard is the Tree?"

Shan nodded.

"It seems likely," she said. "The Khun-Lun mountains lie between Sinkiang and Tibet, which  
is exactly where the Plateau seems to be located. And we can even guess which tree it is - one  
of the trees there seems to be dying. It has lost all its flowers, and even the leaves are beginning  
to wilt now, while all the other trees are still in full bloom."

Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each other.

"It's a good guess," said Hermione, "But I still don't understand what all this has to do with  
Professor Dumbledore. How did that tunnel leading to the Plateau get into the wooden chest?"

No one could answer her. Harry, looking around, could see that one thing was for certain,  
anyway : all of them intended to go to the Plateau that night.

"Of course we must go," said Shan, speaking this thought aloud. "But are we just going to be  
bystanders? Or are we going to stop Li-Kai?"

"Yes," said Harry and Ron, at the same time.

Robert spoke up.

"Despite his background, I don't believe Li-Kai is evil."

Hermione hesitated, and looked at Ron and Harry.

"I agree with Robert," she said. "I don't believe Professor Snufflegint is evil. Desiring to be  
immortal is not a crime. I don't think we have any right to stop him from taking the Peaches."

Shan said something in Chinese to Robert, a hopeful look in her eyes. Robert just gave her a  
small smile, and shook his head firmly. Ron scowled, evidently thinking that Hermione just  
wanted to side with Robert.

"Well, I guess we can't decide anything now," said Harry quickly. "Let's just see what happens  
when we get there."

So, that evening, they swallowed their dinner and left the table as soon as they could. Four of  
them just managed to squeeze under the Invisibility Cloak, because Robert was so small. He  
was carrying Shan, who had transformed herself into a little green snake, in his pocket. Ron  
and Hermione were led to believe that Robert had transfigured Shan into a snake. Hermione  
looked slightly disapproving, because such an act was against the rules, but since she had a  
soft spot for Robert, she said nothing.

Holding the Cloak tightly about them, they made their way over to the storeroom, and down  
through the wooden chest to the Plateau.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Chinese Notes :**

The folk legend above was originally about _I-Hsing_, a Tang astronomer, and not _Wu-Hsien_.  
The astronomer Wu-Hsien actually lived in the 4th Century B.C. I replaced I-Hsing with him,  
because I preferred his name, and it made more sense for him to have lived during the Tang  
Dynasty, when astronomical calculations were more accurate, than during the Warring States  
period.

If you would like to know more about the Khun-Lun mountains and the Peaches of Immortality,  
go to **http://www.chinatown-online.co.uk/pages/culture/legends/mu.html**

~ Kim :o)

**-**


	24. The Eight Immortals

Thanks to all for the encouraging reviews, both for the last chapter and previous ones! :o)   
I can't tell who most of the reviewers were, for my account doesn't seem to be updating and the   
reviewers' names don't appear in the emails - but I will find out, eventually.

A number of things finally come to light in this chapter, but there are still a number of chapters  
to come after this. I want to put the Chinese note here, because I like the ending I gave to this  
chapter and placing the note at the end might diminish its effect. Hope you enjoy reading it! ~ Kim :o)

**Chinese Note:**  
If you would like to know more about the Eight Immortals, please check out  
**http://encarta.msn.com/index/conciseindex/B2/0B2E5000.htm?z=1&pg=2&br=1**

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------  


**Chapter XXIV**

**_The Eight Immortals_**

  
_Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore  
So do our minutes hasten to their end;  
Each changing place with that which goes before,  
In sequent toil all forwards do contend._

_~ W. Shakespeare  
_

**T**he Plateau lay silent and peaceful in the pale moonlight when they arrived. There was no  
sign of Snufflegint. Harry suspected that the old wizard was probably capable of making  
himself invisible, as Professor Dumbledore could. However, he changed his mind when they  
reached the peach orchard. Besides the tortoises and Chester in his usual peach tree, a  
large screech owl had also perched itself in the dying peach tree, and sat there gazing at its  
surroundings with fierce yellow eyes.

They stopped at the foot of the dying tree, and Harry found himself looking nervously up at  
the owl.

"D'you think it's Snufflegint?" hissed Ron.

"Possible," whispered Harry. "Or Dumbledore."

"It must be this Tree, then," whispered Hermione. "Maybe it has to wither before it can fruit,  
and then be reborn again."

The owl suddenly directed its gaze at them, and they fell silent. Harry felt sure the owl had  
heard them. Jeanne had told him, once, how acute an owl's hearing could be. Harry glanced  
down. Perhaps the owl could see the slight depressions their feet were making in the grass.

They waited for a few minutes, and then Hermione said very softly, "Do you hear something  
else?"

They listened. Harry thought he could hear a soft, gnawing sound coming from inside the  
dying tree.

"The tree's alive!" hissed Ron.

"But, it's dying," whispered Hermione.

"Shh," whispered Harry. Two figures were coming toward them, from the direction of the  
tunnel. Harry recognised Dumbledore, and, to his surprise, Lady Wen-Li.

The screech owl shifted its position on its branch, and turned its fierce gaze onto Dumbledore.

Harry and the others quietly edged to one side. Dumbledore came up to the dying tree, and  
looked up at the owl, which was still staring at him. He seemed about to say something,  
when the gnawing sound suddenly became louder than ever. Harry turned to look for its  
source. Something was gnawing on wood, trying to burrow its way out of the dying tree.

Ron gave a muffled exclamation of surprise, as a small black creature emerged from the  
tree.

"Chester!" he whispered. "It's Chester!"

"No, it's just another cricket," whispered Hermione. "Chester's up in his usual peach  
tree, remember?"

Dumbledore and Lady Wen-Li were looking at the cricket in surprise. The cricket gave  
an angry chirp, and with a flutter of wings, flew over to the peach tree on which Chester  
was perched. With a fierce chirp, it launched itself at Chester, who appeared to have  
dozed off, and knocked him right out of the tree and onto the grass.

Chester got to his feet with an indignant chirp. The second cricket launched itself at him  
again, and the two began fighting, each biting the other viciously and giving off loud and  
angry chirps. After a while Harry couldn't tell which cricket was which, because the two  
looked identical.

"We should stop them," whispered Hermione, sounding rather distressed. "What if  
Chester gets hurt?"

Harry found himself watching, transfixed. "It's Chester's fight, Hermione. We should let  
him have his chance."

"Chester doesn't like fighting!" hissed Hermione. "That other cricket attacked him. It must  
have eaten up the interior of the peach tree - that's why the tree was dying!"

Dumbledore and Lady Wen-Li were watching the two crickets in the grass, looking baffled.  
The screech owl, too, was gazing intently at them, though it turned to look in Harry's  
direction when it heard them whispering.

One of the crickets seemed to be getting the worst of the fight. The other was biting it  
viciously and relentlessly, but stopped all of a sudden, and let go.

The weaker cricket crawled slowly away, and then came to a halt and lay still. The victor  
crawled after it, and then gently nudged at it with its antennae, but it didn't move.

"Oh," said Hermione softly, "It's dead."

Dumbledore suddenly gave an exclamation, and he and Lady Wen-Li hurried over to the  
dead cricket. The victorious cricket managed to look guilty, and crawled to one side with  
a subdued chirp. The screech owl, too, gave a cry, and spreading its wings, flew over and  
landed on the grass a few feet from Dumbledore.

Ron gave a small gasp, and Harry felt Hermione grab his shoulder. He looked at the dead  
cricket, and saw that it was swelling in size. Larger and larger it grew, and its form was  
changing. An old wizard in white silk robes lay there, his eyes open and unseeing; it was  
Professor Snufflegint.

The owl gave another cry, and began transforming as well. It swelled upward, and disappeared.  
Jeanne was standing there instead, looking down at Snufflegint's body, a distressed expression  
on her face.

Harry and the others began edging forward, holding the Cloak tightly around them. When they  
were several feet from Dumbledore, Harry thought he saw Snufflegint stir - no, something else  
was rising out of Snufflegint's body - his ghost. It rose up, straight and tall, and then stepped  
away from the body, and stood next to it, looking down at it.

Jeanne looked sadly at the ghost.

"I'm sorry, Septimus," she said.

The ghost glanced at her, then turned and looked at Dumbledore and Lady Wen-Li.

"Brother Li-Kai," said Lady Wen-Li, looking rather startled, "What are you doing here?"

Snufflegint's ghost fixed his fierce and intense stare on her, but said nothing.

Dumbledore was also looking bemused.

"Enlighten us, Septimus," he said. "How did you find out about this place?"

The ghost let his gaze fall on the remaining cricket on the ground.

"It began with my assistant's cricket," he said. "I noticed one day that it wasn't around, so I  
asked him where it was, and he let slip that this place existed."

"Ah," said Dumbledore, glancing around. "That probably means that Harry Potter and his  
friends know about this place, as well."

Harry and the others retreated a few paces. Jeanne, however, was looking in their direction.

"Take the Cloak off, Harry," she said, rather impatiently. "We know you're there."

Harry felt his face going red. He pulled the Cloak off, and glancing back, saw Robert apparently  
transfiguring Shan back to human form.

Lady Wen-Li raised her eyebrows when she saw Shan and Robert there, but Dumbledore's eyes  
were twinkling.

"I believe we should let them stay for the moment, Wen-Li," he said, "since they have been  
ingenious enough to find this place."

He turned, and looked at Jeanne.

"Septimus told me," she said, in answer to the unasked question.

Snufflegint was still looking at the cricket in the grass.

"I suppose I should have found an alternative way to disguise myself," he said. "But the cricket  
was convenient. There aren't many other creatures living on this mountain, and my calculations  
indicated the Tree could have fruited any time between Christmas Eve till the end of January. It was  
the easiest disguise, considering how often the young adventurers kept coming to the mountain."

Harry and the others looked rather guilty, as Dumbledore turned to look at them.

"Maybe I should have killed it," added Snufflegint, still looking at Chester, "But it has been my policy  
never to take a life unnecessarily. I didn't expect him to eat his way out so soon, though."

"Perhaps it is better this way, Brother Li," said Lady Wen-Li gently. "The Peaches do not always  
bring blessing."

Dumbledore had now turned to look at Snufflegint.

"How did you know the time of the Fruiting?" he asked.

"It started with the Potions Master, Liu Pei," answered Snufflegint. "He used to be in the Tomb  
Sect, together with me. He boasted that he had found the key to immortality, and that it lay in the  
stars. It was not hard to guess what he meant; I heard that several important articles had been  
stolen from the Imperial Archives. Chinese astronomers have long known that Wu-Hsien created  
a star-map containing information as to when the Tree would fruit again. The story was dismissed  
as a myth, for the scroll was lost over the years and people ceased to believe it existed. I do not  
know how Liu Pei discovered it was in the Archives, especially as it was in such poor condition  
that no one knew what it contained; but I suspected that he must have stolen it, together with the  
bronze vessel from which it originated.

"He must have been eavesdropping around the palace as well, for he knew that the Tree was in  
your keeping, Wen-Li, and I believe he must have boasted about his knowledge to others, which  
is why word eventually spread and all the Pugilists and Imperial Envoys came bearing down upon  
Tian-Long."

"Ah," said Lady Wen-Li, "but how would they have known that the Tree was about to fruit?"

Snufflegint shrugged.

"Astrologers all around the country have been foretelling that some Great Event is going to occur,"  
he said. "When the scroll was stolen, the Court Astronomers probably realised that the scroll was  
Wu-Hsien's. They must have put two and two together."

"Ah," said Lady Wen-Li again. "And I observe, Brother Li, that you did not bother to inform me  
of all this."

Snufflegint fixed his cold stare on her.

"I thought it unnecessary," he said. "I saw you had removed the peach orchard, and that the Tree  
was safe."

"And you did not think that you would come to Britain and find that Albus had agreed to hide it in  
his storeroom for me," said Lady Wen-Li. "And I am assuming, since you appear to have calculated  
the time of the Fruiting, that you managed to take possession of the scroll?"

Snufflegint nodded.

"I knew Liu Pei well enough, from our days in the Tomb Sect," he said. "I had no intention of  
allowing him to achieve immortality. I kept my eyes open for an opportunity. When one night I  
was woken up by the sounds of fighting, I had only to see a Silverwing fleeing from the window  
below mine to know that the chance had come."

So he was the one, thought Harry. And I thought it was a Dementor.

There was a slight pause, and then Dumbledore turned to Snufflegint.

"What will you do now, Septimus?" he asked. "You know you are welcome to stay at Hogwarts,  
for as long as you wish."

Snufflegint did not reply at once. He looked at Dumbledore, then shifted his gaze to the mountains  
in the distance, a faraway expression in his eyes.

"I will stay here in China," he said at last, "because my heart is here, and always will be."

Lady Wen-Li said swiftly, "Brother Li, I will be hard put to find another Western Magic Master  
as capable. You know you are always welcome at Tian-Long, whether you wish to continue  
teaching, or not."

Snufflegint looked at her, then shook his head slightly, as if undecided.

A strong wind suddenly blew, and peach blossoms began falling to the ground. The singing from  
the distant voices became louder, then suddenly fell to a murmur, and ceased altogether.

"The time is approaching," said Lady Wen-Li, "We should step back a bit; they will be coming soon."

"Who?" whispered Shan, as all of them started retreating some distance from the peach trees. Chester  
came hopping after them, and took refuge on Hermione's shoulder.

"Who's coming, Jeanne?" asked Ron, as Jeanne came over to stand with them. She did not reply, but  
lifted a hand, and pointed at something up in the sky.

Harry turned to look. Eight shooting stars seemed to be falling out of the heavens. After a few moments,  
he saw that they were not stars, but people. As they came down to earth, he saw that they were tall,  
as tall as Hagrid, and glowed with an unearthly light.

Shan gave a soft cry, and turned to look at Robert.

"_Pa-Hsien_!" she said, tugging at his sleeve.

"What?" said Ron, looking blank.

"_Pa-Hsien_!" said Shan again, and then remembered that Ron and the others didn't understand Chinese.  
"The Eight Immortals!"

Harry, who had suspected he would hear a lot of Chinese being spoken that night, took the Translator  
out of his pocket and put it on. He found himself watching the eight heavenly beings in fascination. Each  
had his or her own distinctive appearance. As far as he could see, there was only one woman. Another  
looked like a young boy, with a flower-basket tied at his waist. A third carried a crutch, with a gourd  
attached to his belt. Still another was shorter and stouter than the rest, and was holding a fan. The fifth  
carried a flute, the sixth a bamboo tube-drum, and the seventh some castanets. The eighth, slightly taller  
than the rest, had a shining sword in a scabbard at his belt; he reminded Harry vaguely of Chen-Kang.

"Who are they, Jeanne?" asked Hermione, looking slightly awed.

Lady Wen-Li heard her, and turned to look in their direction, smiling slightly.

"These are the Eight Immortals," she said, "who live in Peng-Lai, east of our country. They have come  
to receive the Peaches of the Tree of Immortality, which used to grow in my mother's garden, until the  
Celestial War broke out and my mother entrusted the Tree to me. You would not have been able to  
partake of the fruit, anyway, Brother Li," - turning to look at Snufflegint's ghost, who was standing  
next to her, watching - "The _Pa-Hsien_ will destroy them, the minute they appear."

Harry and the others turned to look at Lady Wen-Li in surprise. She was looking at the Eight Immortals,  
who had arranged themselves in a semicircle around one of the peach trees, and seemed to be waiting  
for something.

"There is a war raging in another Realm, between the Celestials, even now," said Lady Wen-Li. "It has  
been raging for centuries, for many of those who ate the Peaches lived long enough to discover the secret  
of making themselves invincible. Because of that, the war may never end, for the combatants cannot be  
killed. When my mother learned of this, she realised that the gift of Immortality can sometimes be a curse,  
and she wanted to destroy the Tree, but it cannot be destroyed, only hidden. And so I brought it to  
Tian-Long, and there it will stay, unless I see fit to move it to another place, and every three thousand years,  
when it bears its Peaches, the _Pa-Hsien_ will come, and destroy the fruit."

It had become darker now, and Harry, looking up at the sky, saw that the moon and the stars appeared to  
have dimmed. The only source of light came from the Immortals, who were glowing brightly, and the Tree  
they were surrounding, which had now shed all its blooms, and was beginning to glow as well.

An exclamation from Hermione made him turn, and he saw another figure striding toward them, from the  
direction of the tunnel : it was the Monkey King. But he looked different now; he was dressed in blue  
robes, and seemed more human in behaviour. He was holding a long, wooden staff.

Lady Wen-Li's eyes twinkled as the monkey came up to them.

"Master S'un, are you here as well?" she said. "Have you not had enough of the Peaches?"

The Monkey King made no reply, but merely smiled in response, and stood quietly, watching the Eight  
Immortals. Ron and Hermione were looking blank; Lady Wen-Li must have been speaking Chinese.  
Shan, noticing this, began to translate for them.

They stood, watching the Eight Immortals and the Tree, which was growing brighter and brighter.  
After a while, it began to fruit before their eyes. Out came the Peaches, small at first, then growing  
to become round, plump delectable-looking fruit, golden in colour.

The Eight Immortals waited till the fruit had ceased to appear, and the tree was covered with  
luscious-looking Peaches. They then lifted their arms, and pointed at the Tree. Bright beams of  
light shot out from their fingers, hitting the fruit and vapourising them immediately.

"Oh," said Shan, rather sadly, and glanced at Robert, who just shook his head slightly and said  
softly, "You can't imagine what it means, Shan."

The Eight Immortals lowered their hands; the Peaches had all been destroyed. One of the Immortals,  
the woman, turned and looked at them, and then began making her way over to them.

"That is H'e Hsien-Ku," whispered Shan, to Harry, Ron and Hermione.

H'e Hsien-Ku stopped in front of them, towering over them, ghostly and beautiful; Harry saw that  
she wore a lotus blossom in her hair. She was looking at Professor Snufflegint.

"I have come to have words with you, Brother Li," she said. "You sought the Peaches, but your  
motives were not untrue. You may still have what you desire. Come to Peng-Lai Shan, and abide  
there for a while, and you will realise that you do not need to be immortal to find your goal."

Snufflegint was silent for a moment, returning the witch's gaze, then gave a small nod of assent.

H'e Hsien-Ku reached a hand out, and pointed at his physical body, which they had brought with  
them and was lying several feet away. The body shimmered, and then vanished. She then passed  
a hand through his ghostly form, and it glowed, and seemed to transform slightly, so that he looked  
younger, as he might have appeared about a hundred years ago.

H'e Hsien-Ku now turned to Lady Wen-Li.

"It is done," she said, "I will bring Li-Kai back to Peng-Lai now, and my brothers will bring your  
orchard back to Long-Shan."

Lady Wen-Li smiled and gave a slight nod. H'e Hsien-Ku looked at the Monkey King. "Are you  
coming too?"

S'un Wu-Kung smiled, and bowed slightly to her.

"Come, then," she said, looking at him, and then at Snufflegint, and turned and made her way to  
the edge of the mountain.

Lady Wen-Li said, "It is time for me to return to Tian-Long." She bowed to Dumbledore, and  
smiled at the rest of them, and then turned and made her way over to where the other Immortals  
were waiting.

Professor Snufflegint's ghost turned and looked at Jeanne.

"Good luck, Jeanne," he said quietly.

Jeanne looked soberly at him, and her eyes were sad.

"And to you, Septimus," she replied.

Snufflegint stood there, gazing at her for a moment, then turned and followed H'e Hsien-Ku. The  
Monkey King, too, made to follow, but then turned and smiled at Hermione.

"Farewell, Hermione," he said, winking at her, and then he turned and joined the other two at the  
cliff's edge. H'e Hsien-Ku raised her arms, and began rising up into the sky, together with Snufflegint  
and S'un Wu-Kung. Higher and higher they flew, until they were but small specks in the sky, and  
then they shimmered, and vanished.

Harry turned to look at the orchard. Lady Wen-Li was standing next to the Tree. The remaining  
Immortals raised their arms, and the orchard began to shimmer. For a brief moment, Harry thought  
he saw an image of the lake in Tian-Long superimposed on the orchard. The Emperor's envoys,  
together with the Pugilists, were visible as well, camping by the lakeside; some of them looked  
quite disgruntled. Then the orchard glowed more brightly, and pulsated a bit, and then faded,  
and disappeared.

"We have to go," said Dumbledore swiftly, "The Immortals are going to remove the Enchantment  
from this place, and seal up the tunnel; it's time we went back to Hogwarts."

He began leading the way back. Hermione was still looking at the spot where the Monkey King  
had vanished.

"I didn't know he could talk," she said.

Jeanne smiled at her. "Master Wu-Kung is always full of surprises."

"What did the witch mean, Jeanne," said Ron, "about Snufflegint's motives being true?"

Jeanne gave a small sigh.

"He didn't desire power or anything," she said. "He just wasn't tired of living yet. He wanted to  
see more of China; of late he had become too old to travel, so his time was spent in Tian-Long,  
teaching, but his yearning to roam far and wide still remained. He thought that he could borrow  
some time, till he'd had his fill, and then find a place where he could rest."

"How come the Immortals seem to know him?" asked Harry curiously.

"I don't know, but it doesn't surprise me," said Jeanne, smiling slightly. "He has been around, has  
Septimus. I hope he can achieve what he desires - he can still travel as much as he wants, in his  
present form, and see all those places that he hasn't seen."

She looked at Harry, and saw what he was thinking.

"Yes, Harry," she said, putting an arm around him, even while looking reprovingly at him, "I know  
Septimus quite well. And now, since he's gone, please stop spying on me."

Harry went red. Jeanne smiled, and removed her arm from his shoulders.

They had reached the edge of the cliff leading down to the tunnel, and turned back to look. The  
Immortals had removed the Enchantment from the Plateau, and the feeling of timelessness had  
disappeared. It was now no more than an ordinary mountaintop. Winter was setting in rapidly;  
snow was starting to fall, covering the meadow and the forest of conifers.

Shan looked rather sad as they climbed down to the tunnel. Dumbledore was looking at Harry  
in amusement.

"I won't ask you how you managed to discover this place, Harry," he said. "I presume you are  
wondering if you are going to be punished. As far as I know, there is no rule in Hogwarts that  
says you can't come to Mount Khun-Lun on the night the Tree of the Peaches of Immortality is  
going to fruit, so it seems I am going to have to let you off."

Harry found himself grinning in relief.

"So that's why the Envoys and the Pugilists were hanging around Tian-Long," said Ron. "They  
were looking for the Tree."

Dumbledore chuckled.

"Yes, and they refused to stay in the palace, even though Lady Wen-Li invited them to do so," he  
said. "I imagine she must have informed them that the Peaches are gone, by now there is going  
to be a crowd of very disappointed people, over at Tian-Long."

They climbed back into the storeroom, and then Dumbledore took his wand out and pointed it at  
the wooden chest. There was a flash of light, and then the ladder was gone. The chest reverted to  
what it must have originally looked like, with a normal bottom, and filled with various odds and ends,  
pieces of old parchment, an old cauldron, and a bale of cloth.

Dumbledore closed the lid of the chest, and they left the room.

Hermione was looking thoughtful.

"So, Lady Wen-Li's mother is the Queen Mother of the West," she said. "She must be one of the  
Immortals, herself no wonder she looks the way she does - ageless."

Shan nodded, still looking rather sad that the Plateau was gone. Robert, noticing, slipped his hand  
into hers, and gave it a comforting squeeze.

Over the next few days, although he knew it was pointless, Harry found himself coming back to  
the storeroom every now and then, and checking the chest in the hope that he might find the ladder  
extending downward into pitch blackness again; but of course, he didn't. The chest remained as it  
was, an ordinary chest. The gateway to the Plateau had been sealed up forever, and the Timeless  
Land had become a thing of the past, remaining alive only in their memories.

- 


	25. Robert's Decision

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------  


**Chapter XXV**

**_Robert's Decision_**

  
_Wistful, away from my friends and kin,  
Through mist and fog I float  
With the sail that bears me toward Lo-Yang.  
In Yangzhou trees linger bell-notes of evening,  
Marking the day and the place of our parting  
When shall we meet again and where?  
Destiny is a boat on the waves,  
Bearing us to and fro, beyond our will._

_~ Wei Ying-Wu, Tang Dynasty  
_

**H**arry found it difficult to settle back to normal school life, now that the mystery of Liu Pei's  
scroll and the Plateau had been solved. Robert, who had been relatively vocal during the past  
few weeks, now lapsed back into his usual silent self. Shan, too, seemed quieter. She began  
to spend more of her time doing her assignments, but sometimes seemed to be staring at her  
parchment as if her mind was elsewhere. Harry suspected that she was thinking about her  
parents.

Ron was still feeling worried about Pixie, who continued to visit Snape's office, doing whatever  
chores he gave her. Snape had also begun to bully her mercilessly in class. All the most cutting  
remarks were reserved for her, and she found herself being ordered to stay back after class,  
not a few times, to repeat the lesson because her potion had been unsatisfactory.

Pixie, who could occasionally be hot-tempered, took all the bullying quietly. She generally  
appeared to be her usual carefree self, but was now spending less time with Parvati and Lavendar,  
and more with Ron, doing her beloved carving while he did his homework. She had started work  
on a block of crystal, and seemed to be shaping it into the form of a bird with her wand. She had  
also begun carving a lump of fine, pale green jade, which Harry suspected was to be a gift for Ron,  
for she only worked on it when he wasn't around.

Malfoy and some of the other students were still making annoying remarks about Shan and Harry.  
Shan generally ignored them, but Harry couldn't help feeling uncomfortable. It was hard to tell what  
Robert was thinking; Harry was tempted to have a talk with him, and let him know that all the silly  
remarks and teasing were baseless, but he still wasn't sure if Sang Nila had been correct. Perhaps  
Robert really only cared for Shan as a cousin, and might laugh at Harry if he were to suggest  
otherwise.

  
---------* * *----------

  
Pixie had been having a bad fifteen minutes of it. She had been spending those minutes grinding  
dried earthworms to powder, and every time she looked up, Snape was staring at her with that  
awful glitter in his eyes.

Finally, he came over to where she was sitting, and stood there, looking down at her.

"Miss Pei," he said, "You have been coming here, three times a week, one to two hours a day,  
for the past two weeks. I find it difficult to comprehend why a student totally inept at the art of  
potion-making should display such diligence. Perhaps it is time that you enlightened me."

Pixie looked down at the powdered earthworms on the table.

"I don't know why I'm here," she muttered, rather resentfully. "I know you don't like me, and I  
don't like you either."

She stopped, unsure of what she wanted to say. She glanced at Snape, and saw that he was  
staring at her with a faint sneer on his face. She lowered her eyes to the table again.

"I don't know why I keep coming here," she repeated, sulkily. "I just feel that there's something  
I'm supposed to learn here. Something that you're supposed to teach me."

Snape's eyes narrowed, and a sardonic expression came over his face.

"Indeed," he said coldly. He glanced at a table by the wall, on which a box of new potions  
ingredients was sitting. "I shall make use of your presence here, then. Your esteemed Potions  
teacher has sent me a fresh supply of ingredients for her project. I expect you to spend no less  
than two hours a day in here, helping me prepare the ingredients, after which you will assist me  
in the testing."

He gestured at her to go over to the table, and her heart sank when she looked into the box : a  
large proportion of the ingredients were dragon bones.

She began going to the office every day from then on, and besides grinding the bones, Snape  
generally managed to find other unpleasant tasks for her to perform. She had to slice dead bats  
open, extract their intestines and brains, and then add preservatives to them and store them away.  
She had to remove the eyes of river crabs and place them in a jar, remove the stones from the  
gizzards of birds, extract the poison from centipedes, and cut up hyenas' galls. Ron and Harry  
became used to seeing her come back from Snape's office with her robes stained with bat blood,  
and she sometimes looked tired in the morning because she had woken up in the middle of the  
night after dreaming that she was surrounded by jars of eyes, all staring at her.

Still, she gritted her teeth and persevered. Snape would watch her as she worked doggedly, his  
eyes narrowing. Finally, he snapped at her one day, asking her about her family background.

Talking about her family wasn't Pixie's favourite topic.

"My father is a craftsman," she said shortly. "My mother doesn't work; she's always sick. My  
sisters are all married."

She stopped. Snape, who didn't look very interested, although he had initiated the conversation,  
looked up.

"Keep talking," he said, coldly.

Pixie stared at him, privately thinking he was mad. Snape was glaring sourly at her, his hand  
fingering his wand. She decided she'd rather not find out what he would do to her if she refused.  
So she talked about her father, about all the crafts he made, and how she had picked it up from  
him, and how much she liked it. She talked about her mother, who was always ill and never had  
time for her. And her sisters, who were all cleverer and more gifted than she and yet ended up  
being matchmade to their husbands and leading dull and mundane lives. Pixie herself vowed this  
would never happen to her. After a while, she stopped talking, because Snape didn't really seem  
to be listening, but the minute she did, he snapped at her to continue.

She soon ran out of things to say, so she began to talk about anything that came into her head,  
why she disliked being at home, and that she often felt lonely there. She doubted that Snape was  
really listening, anyway. He was doing it just to wear her down.

Finally, he curtly told her to get out, because he had other work to do and her presence in the  
room bothered him. She left, wishing he would tell her that he didn't want her to come back. Why  
didn't he? She knew she could stop coming if she chose to, that she had no obligation to continue  
helping him, and yet, for some perverse reason she felt that unless he told her to stop, she had to  
keep coming.

After that day, Snape was even more unkind to her in the office, giving her the most unsavoury  
tasks, and often driving her to tears. However, for some reason, he ceased bullying her in class.  
Gone were the times she had to stay back and perfect her solutions. Not that he was any kinder  
to her, but he generally ignored her presence in the class, a form of treatment she received with  
relief and which many of the other students, especially Chee Chong, would have been happy to  
have received.

  
---------* * *----------

  
"Robert, have you got a few minutes?"

Divination was due to begin in a quarter of an hour. Harry felt that should give him ample time to  
talk to Robert.

Harry had been unable to forget the incident with the Boggart, and the uncharacteristic anger  
Robert had shown when Shan had left the room, weeping. The teasing and comments about  
Harry and Shan had continued, now often in front of Robert, for Malfoy knew Robert would  
not retaliate unless something derogatory was said about Shan. Harry wondered whether  
Malfoy suspected that Robert cared for Shan. He wondered if Hermione had been right.  
Robert persisted in looking as deadpan as ever, but Harry found himself feeling increasingly  
uncomfortable. Finally, he decided to talk things out with Robert, and clear everything up.

Shan looked rather surprised at Harry's request, but gave them both a smile and then went off  
toward Professor Trelawney's classroom first. Harry found himself looking at Robert, and  
wondering how to begin.

Robert looked questioningly at him. He didn't take his glasses off, as Harry hoped he would.

"Er," he said, suddenly finding himself at a loss for words.

Robert waited patiently for a while, then said kindly, "Is something bothering you, Harry?"

Just say anything, thought Harry, you'll get there after a while.

"It's about Shan," he said. "All the teasing and stupid comments, from Malfoy and the others"

Robert stood and waited.

"It's just there's nothing between me and Shan, we're just friends," said Harry, and then had  
a sudden inspiration, "and I don't know how to tell her - I'm afraid she'll get the wrong idea. I  
thought maybe you could let her know, for me."

Robert looked at him for a moment, and then asked curiously, "Why don't you like Shan?"

Harry had a feeling he was treading on dangerous ground.

"It's not that I don't like her," he said quickly, "Only she reminds me of someone else I used  
to like. And that didn't turn out well. After that episode, I don't feel ready to consider any sort  
of relationship again, for a long time."

Robert seemed to be thinking.

"I know what you're trying to say, Harry," he said at last. "But you don't need to worry. As for  
the teasing, I don't think Shan really minds. She was saying - "

He stopped, because Professor McGonagall was now coming swiftly up to them.

"Potter, did I not tell you to see me as soon as possible about your essay?" she said sharply.  
She glanced at Robert. "This will take a while, Mo; you'll have to continue your conversation  
with Potter later."

Robert promptly nodded, and went off to the Divination classroom. Harry watched him leave,  
feeling frustrated. Why, oh why must Professor McGonagall turn up now?

Professor McGonagall kept Harry there for ten minutes, and by the time he made it up to the  
classroom, the lesson had started.

They had begun crystal-gazing, and Harry found himself sitting near the back of the class, looking  
at swirling white mist inside his crystal ball. Robert was sitting a few tables away. He didn't seem  
to be listening to what Professor Trelawney was saying; he was staring into space, and his mind  
appeared to be elsewhere. Harry wondered if he was thinking about the conversation they'd just  
had.

After a while, Professor Trelawney began to move around the class, and Robert, seeing her  
approaching, pretended to gaze intently into his crystal ball.

Professor Trelawney glided past, her bangles clinking. Robert waited till she had moved over to  
the other end of the room, and then began to idly tap his crystal ball with his wand. Harry watched,  
feeling curious. An image of Sang Nila appeared; it looked as though he was communicating with  
some of the merpeople in the lake.

Robert watched him for a while, then tapped the ball again. Professor Flitwick appeared,  
conducting one of his Charms classes. Robert placed his fingers on one side of the ball,  
and seemed to be listening to Flitwick's lesson. Then, seeing Professor Trelawney coming  
in his direction again, he tapped the ball so that swirling mist appeared again, but continued  
to place his fingers on the ball, as if still listening to the lesson.

Harry, seeing Professor Trelawney coming over to him, quickly fixed his attention on his own  
crystal ball. When she had left, he glanced at Robert again. Robert looked quite absorbed; his  
fingers were still on his crystal ball, and whatever he was listening to, it must have been very  
interesting, for he didn't notice Professor Trelawney coming up to him. He continued staring at  
his crystal ball, even when she was standing right in front of his table, looking down at him.

"You appear to have achieved an intimate union with your Orb, my dear," said Professor  
Trelawney. "Pray tell us, what you have Seen within its depths."

Robert didn't seem to hear her. He was still listening, and Harry thought he looked rather pale.

Professor Trelawney, perceiving that she was being ignored, frowned.

"My dear - " she began huffily, but all of a sudden, Robert drew his fingers back with a jerk,  
and the crystal ball flared brightly, and exploded into fragments.

Professor Trelawney screamed, and jumped backward with remarkable agility. Shan gave a  
cry of dismay, and hurried over to Robert. Blood was streaming from his left hand, where  
several of the glass shards had cut him.

"I'm all right, Shan," he said, using his robes to staunch the flow.

Professor Trelawney was sitting in a chair, gasping.

"An ill omen, my dears," she whispered. "Never have I known an Orb to shatter " She  
fixed her enormous eyes on Robert, and then said faintly, "I think that we shall leave the  
lesson here for today."

Shan was still making a fuss over Robert's hand. Robert repeated firmly, "I'm fine, Shan.  
I'll go see Madam Pomfrey, and let her fix it."

He made a gesture at the shards of broken glass on the floor with his other hand, and they  
flew back up onto the table into a crystal ball again. He then picked his bag up. Shan said,  
"I'll meet you in the library after that."

Robert hesitated, and glanced at Harry.

"I can't," he said. "Professor Lupin said he wanted to see me about something. Harry can  
help you out - he's already finished his essay."

He turned, and quickly left the room. Shan looked slightly surprised, but gathered her things  
and turned to look at Harry.

Harry felt rather nonplussed. Was he imagining it, or was Robert avoiding Shan? Had Harry  
given him the wrong idea? It looked as if he was trying to make himself scarce, so that Harry  
could be with Shan.

Hermione joined them as they made their way to the library.

"Is Robert all right?" she asked, looking concerned.

"Oh, it's just a small cut," said Shan cheerfully. "He probably did it to frighten Professor  
Trelawney. We finished twenty minutes early."

Harry, however, wasn't feeling as cheerful. Robert hadn't gone to see Madam Pomfrey, or  
Professor Lupin. Harry had glanced out the window a few minutes earlier, and had seen him  
making his way down to the lake. He had deliberately lied to Shan. Why?

  
---------* * *----------

  
"I'll come soon," said Pixie, "I need to talk to Professor Lupin for a few minutes."

Ron glanced at the parchment she was holding.

"Is that the essay on vampires that we're supposed to do?" he asked, surprised. "But we  
don't need to pass it up till next week!"

Pixie snatched the parchment away, her face slightly pink.

"Just go," she said, "I'll join you in a while."

"But you've never handed anything in early before!" said Ron, looking shocked.

"_Go_, Ron," she said impatiently, giving him a small push. She turned her back on him, picked  
up her bag, and made her way to the front of the class, where Lupin was keeping his books  
away.

Ron stood goggling after her for a few moments, then gathered his own things and headed  
for the door.

Pixie waited till the last of the students, including Ron, had left the class, then went up to  
Lupin's desk. Lupin, looking up, seemed rather surprised to see her.

"What is it, Pixie?"

Pixie placed the parchment on the desk.

"My vampire essay," she said, looking her most innocent. "I've finished it."

Lupin raised his eyebrows. He took the sheets of parchment, and looked through them.  
Pixie stood by, holding her breath, and still looking innocent.

Lupin put the parchment down, and looked shrewdly at her.

"You want something from me, don't you?"

Pixie returned his gaze, and suddenly found it wasn't so easy to look innocent after all.  
She went red, and looked down at the desk.

"Yes," she said, in a small voice. She peeked at him through her eyelashes. "Professor  
Lupin - Ron tells me you and Professor Snape used to go to school together."

Lupin looked speculatively at her. "In a manner of speaking, yes."

"Well," said Pixie, letting her eyes fall to the desk again, "I was wondering - if you could  
tell me what he was like, when he was a student."

Lupin looked at Pixie for a few moments, his expression unreadable.

"Jeanne tells me you have been visiting Severus almost every day, helping him with his  
project."

Pixie nodded.

"Also, that Severus has been giving you the most unpleasant tasks to do, and that you  
have been performing all of them most admirably, without a word of complaint."

Pixie remained silent. She looked at Lupin, hoping he would answer her question.

"I don't suppose you would care to tell me why you need this information," remarked Lupin.

Pixie flushed, and looked down at the desk. She flicked another glance at Lupin, and saw  
that his expression, though rather stern, was not hostile. She suddenly felt an urge to tell  
someone about what she had been going through, the past few weeks. She hadn't been  
able to tell anyone; she knew Ron wouldn't understand, although he was worried about  
her, and neither would Parvati, or Lavendar.

"I don't know why I keep going there," she said, rather sullenly. "I hate Snape. And I know  
he despises me. A lot of people despise me. They think I'm a silly featherhead."

She stopped, and glanced at Lupin, and saw that he was looking slightly less stern.

"Snape doesn't seem human," she said. "Everyone in the school hates him. He treats us as if  
we're slugs. He treats me like I'm less than nothing. During my detention, I was dying to get  
out of the room. Only, Chien-Mei came in after a while"

She paused, unsure how to explain what she meant.

"Snape doesn't seem human," she repeated, "but he almost was, while talking to Chien-Mei.  
As if, he needed to tell his feelings and ideas to someone else. And Chien-Mei seemed to  
know it. She just stood there and took everything, even remarks that were insulting to her."

She paused again, and saw that Lupin was listening intently.

"I know it sounds silly," she said. "but that time during the detention I just felt I was  
supposed to be there, for a reason that Snape was supposed to teach me something.  
But I didn't know what it was. I still don't. I keep going back, and I still haven't found out.  
I thought, maybe it's about human nature. Maybe Snape used to be different, and something  
happened that made him what he is today. So I thought, maybe you could tell me "

She stopped, and looked at Lupin.

Lupin looked at her for a few moments, as if thinking about what she'd just said.

"So, all this started because you heard Severus talking to Jeanne."

"Yes," said Pixie hesitantly, and then added, "It wasn't so much what they said - what he  
said" she trailed off, wondering whether anything she had said so far made any sense.

Lupin sat there quietly, waiting for her to finish.

"Not so much what he said," said Pixie, looking down at the desk, " as what he didn't say."

There was a silence for about a minute, as she stared down at the desk, thinking about the past  
few weeks and wondering why she was letting all this happen to her. Then she looked up, and  
saw that Lupin was still looking at her, and that he was smiling kindly.

"Why don't you draw a chair up, Pixie," he said, "and I'll see what I can tell you."

  
---------* * *----------

  
Harry hadn't been imagining it. Robert was really avoiding Shan. He was spending an  
inordinately large amount of time with Sang Nila, and he seemed troubled and preoccupied,  
as if he was trying to sort something out within himself.

Shan, of course, noticed it after a while, and began to look upset and confused. Finally, one  
day after class, Harry heard her asking Robert if she could borrow one of his essays.

Robert hesitated, then said something in Chinese.

Shan looked surprised, then replied, rather heatedly, also in Chinese.

Harry felt around in his pocket for the Translator. He had begun to carry it around again, for  
he had the feeling that Shan and Robert were going to talk things out sooner or later, and  
although it was eavesdropping, Harry really wanted to know whether he had given Robert  
the wrong message the other day. If so, he was going to step in and clear everything up once  
and for all.

" - you can't always rely on me, Shan. What happens when I'm not around?"

"I don't always rely on you. It's only homework, for goodness sake!"

"It isn't only homework. I see it now I shouldn't have stuck next to you all this time. That  
took away all the chances you had of making other really close friends - "

"Don't change the subject, Robert. I'm only asking you for an essay. What's happening? Are  
you angry with me? Don't deny it - you've been avoiding me!"

"I'm giving you a chance to mix around more," said Robert. "This exchange programme has  
opened my eyes."

"I don't want to mix around more!" said Shan angrily. "I'm the one who'll decide who I want  
to spend time with, not you!"

Robert was silent for a moment. Harry had the impression he was fighting with something  
within himself. Finally, he spoke, almost as if he had to force the words out.

"I've been doing some thinking," he said. "I've decided - I'm going to Shao-Lin."

Shan turned very pale. "What?"

Robert wasn't looking at her.

"I'm going to apply for Shao-Lin," he repeated.

Shan looked slightly distraught. "_Why_?"

Robert hesitated, and glanced at Harry.

"I don't know," he said. "I just have to."

"You're pulling my leg, aren't you?" said Shan. "You're angry about something I've done,  
aren't you? What is it?"

"Nothing," said Robert. His voice was shaking slightly. "I'm not angry with you, Shan. And  
I'm not joking; I've made up my mind."

Shan's face was white.

"I don't believe it," she said flatly. "Something else has happened; tell me the truth, Robert."

She reached a hand out to grasp his arm, but Robert suddenly drew back, as if he was afraid  
of her touch.

"This is as hard for me as it is for you," he said tightly. "Just trust me, Shan. I've made the right  
decision."

He abruptly turned, and went off. Shan stood there, staring after him, till he disappeared round  
a corner, and then sat down on a nearby chair, looking stunned.

Harry hesitated, then sat down next to her.

She seemed close to tears. A tear did trickle down her cheek, but she angrily dashed it away,  
and shook her head, as if she wanted to clear her mind.

Harry looked uncertainly at her. "Are you all right?"

"No," said Shan, shortly. Then she seemed to pull herself together somewhat, and looked at  
Harry.

"Sorry, Harry," she said. "I still can't believe what I just heard." She fell silent, staring moodily  
at the floor.

Harry didn't care whether they knew he had the Translator on or not. He wanted to find out  
what was wrong.

"I don't understand, Shan," he said. "Why don't you want Robert to go to Shao-Lin? It's a  
famous school - from what I've heard, a lot of students would literally cut their arms off, to  
have a chance to go there."

Shan gave a small sigh.

"You don't know, Harry," she said, sounding bitter, "The training at Shao-Lin lasts ten years.  
He can't come back home, during that time. We can't go there to visit him. No letters, no  
communication with the outside world. Ten years!"

So that's the reason, thought Harry.

"But - it's Robert's choice, isn't it?" he said cautiously. "It's his future."

"There's no future for him in Shao-Lin!" said Shan, unreasonably. "I don't want him to go!"

Harry was quiet for a moment, then decided to mention something that had been in his  
thoughts for some time.

"But you knew it would happen, didn't you?"

Shan turned her head, and looked at him.

"It's obvious - to me, anyway - that the two of you care a lot for each other," said Harry.  
"But both of you keep holding back. And I've been wondering why. It's because of this,  
isn't it? You guessed that something like this would happen, one day."

Shan was silent for a few minutes, thinking.

"You're right, Harry," she said at last, softly, "It has always been in my mind, that he'd leave,  
one day." Her voice shook slightly. "It's just - I didn't expect it to happen so soon."

"Ten years will pass before you know it," said Harry, although he didn't believe this, himself.  
To a teenager, ten years seemed a very long time indeed. "You'll see him again after that."

Shan refused to be comforted.

"Ten years is forever," she said disconsolately, a hopeless expression in her eyes.

The next few days proved to be rather uncomfortable ones. Shan was very depressed, and  
she and Robert were not speaking to each other. Harry felt rather upset, himself. Why should  
Robert suddenly decide to apply for Shao-Lin Academy? Of course, it was a prestigious  
school; but Harry couldn't help wondering if his conversation with Robert hadn't triggered it off.  
His attempt to bring Robert and Shan together had backfired. He suspected that Robert thought  
that Harry actually did like Shan, and was making himself scarce so that Harry would have a  
chance to be with her.

Hermione, noticing that Robert was always alone now, sat next to him in class whenever she  
could. The only times Robert sat with Shan was during Potions, for Snape was still being nasty  
to the Chinese students, and Robert would never allow anyone to bully Shan. Fortunately, Snape  
was concentrating most of his efforts onto Chee Chong. Harry found himself wondering what  
Robert would do to Snape if the latter ever did try to intimidate Shan.

Even so, Robert and Shan hardly spoke to each other during Potions, except when Robert  
was giving instructions on how to prepare the solution. Shan remained silent, but couldn't help  
looking hurt and bewildered, and Robert generally avoided her eyes. Because Snape insisted  
Robert wear normal glasses during the class, Harry couldn't help noticing that he looked as  
unhappy as Shan.

Fortunately, this sorry state of affairs was slightly alleviated by Parvati and Lavendar's suggestion  
that they have an informal concert on the last night of the exchange programme. Pixie volunteered  
to play the _er-hu_, a Chinese musical instrument, and also persuaded Shan to perform a Chinese  
dance with her.

"I don't know how to dance," said Shan flatly, when Pixie brought the subject up.

"I'll teach you," said Pixie. "You have to do something. There are only five of us now, and you  
know Yuan-Ming won't agree to perform any item."

Shan flushed slightly at the mention of Robert's name. Seeing there was no help for it, she agreed,  
and Harry was pleased to see her practising the dance together with Pixie; at least, it was keeping  
her too busy to feel depressed.

Fatty and Chee Chong, after some discussion, decided to perform some Chinese opera.

"There's one with a King and a Concubine," said Fatty. "I can get the costumes. I'll be the King,  
and you be the Concubine."

Chee Chong looked indignant. "Why must I be the Concubine?"

"Because I say so," said Fatty. "We'll have to prepare a potion that can make us sing. Chien-Mei  
said she'd help us with it."

Parvati had decided to do a northern Indian dance. After much cajoling and bribing, Lavendar  
managed to persuade Seamus to do an Irish step dance. Dean, who was good at art, volunteered  
to do the props, and roped Robert in, because he could conjure up practically any article that  
Dean required.

  
---------* * *----------

  
Pixie had finished polishing her block of crystal, which had now been moulded into the form  
of a swallow in flight. She tucked it carefully into her robes. This would be her last session  
with Snape, and she intended to leave it behind on the table, as a farewell gift.

Snape had not been so nasty to her lately. She had finished preparing the ingredients for the  
project, and Snape had used them to create a variety of complex solutions. They had then  
commenced on testing. Pixie sat in her usual corner in the main office, doing the preliminary  
testing on the solutions. This consisted of all sorts of tedious routines, including dropping  
charmed strips of paper into small vessels of solution, and noting what colour they changed  
into, or adding small amounts of other potions which Snape provided, and seeing how the  
solution reacted, and recording it down. These sometimes resulted in ghastly-smelling and  
potentially dangerous-looking fumes being given off, and Pixie, alarmed, had bolted out of  
the room not a few times.

Snape closeted himself in another side office, and did the final testing there. Pixie wasn't sure  
what he was doing, and decided she didn't want to know, especially as the stream of live mice,  
rats and other animals which Argus Filch kept bringing into the side office often came out dead,  
a few days later.

Pixie drew a small breath before knocking on the door of the office. After today, she would  
be free of Snape forever. He still unnerved her, and she still disliked him, but for some reason  
he had won her grudging respect.

That day's session was a short one, for the testing had been completed and the project was over.  
She spent most of the one hour there tidying up the office and disposing of the remains of dead  
rats. Finally, it was time to leave.

Pixie waited till Snape wasn't looking, then took the crystal swallow out and hid it behind a  
pile of books on the table. She then made her way over to Snape, who was near the door.

"This is my last day here, so I'll say good-bye," she said, when Snape turned to look at her.

Snape regarded her for a moment, his eyes glittering coldly, then nodded briefly and turned  
away. Pixie headed for the door and quit the room, feeling rather ruffled. Instead of the relief  
she had expected to feel, there was a strange feeling of dissatisfaction inside her, as if she had  
left something undone, or some task remained that had yet to be completed.

The rest of the afternoon was spent rehearsing for the concert, which was to be held in the  
common room, where a makeshift stage had been set up. Shan kept dropping her dance  
ribbon, and couldn't seem to understand why Pixie insisted she take her glasses off during  
the performance. Seamus, finding that he still kept tripping over his own feet, finally asked  
Robert if there was any anti-tripping spell that he knew of.

Pixie, for some reason, found that her eyes kept straying to the portrait hole, as if she expected  
someone to come in. However, the anticipated visitor finally came in not through the portrait  
hole, but through the window, in the form of a tawny owl. A bundle was hanging from its beak,  
and it was scanning the room, as if looking for someone.

Pixie's heart leapt when she saw the bundle. She felt positive it was from Snape. The owl spied  
her near the stage, and flew over. Then, it began swelling and transforming, and Jeanne was  
there instead. She gestured at Pixie to go over to a quiet corner of the room.

"Xiao-Yan, Severus has asked me to give something to you," she said in Chinese, looking  
solemnly at her. "It is not what you think it is; take a good look at it."

Pixie took hold of the bundle, her heart beating slightly faster. She unwrapped it, and then felt  
her heart drop like a stone. It was the crystal swallow; Snape had returned her gift.

She found herself winking back tears of keenly felt disappointment. Jeanne looked at her, and  
her eyes were kind.

"Look closer at the carving, Xiao-Yan," she said. "Do you see anything?"

Pixie peered at the swallow. Something inside shifted slightly; the swallow was now hollow, and  
it was filled with a clear, transparent solution.

She looked at it, puzzled, and still feeling rather hurt.

"What is it?"

"The fruit of your labour, these past few weeks," said Jeanne. "The end-result of the project.  
Without your help, I don't think Severus could have completed it so early."

Pixie frowned.

"What would I do with it?" she said sulkily. "I don't even know what it's for!"

Jeanne, seeing how disappointed she looked, put an arm around her.

"Hopefully, you won't need to find out," she said. "Xiao-Yan, I found Severus holding the  
swallow in his hands and looking at it when I came into the room. When he saw me, he  
filled it with the solution, and told me to return it to you."

Pixie looked at her.

"Before I left, I asked him if there was anything he wanted me to tell you," said Jeanne. "He  
was silent for a while, and then he said, 'Tell her I don't need the swallow to remember her'."

Pixie looked at the swallow again. For some reason, she felt slightly better.

"Thanks," she said.

Jeanne smiled, and removed her arm from Pixie's shoulders.

"Go upstairs and keep it safely away, now," she said. "And then you'd best get back to your  
rehearsal."

Shan watched as Jeanne transformed into an owl again, and flew out the window. Harry,  
seeing that she was taking a break, since she couldn't practise the dance without Pixie  
anyway, came over.

"How's it coming along?"

"All right," said Shan, still looking at the window. She was silent for a few moments, then  
said hesitantly, "Harry, you know Chien-Mei's story, don't you?"

Harry was rather surprised. "What?"

"Chien-Mei," said Shan. "How she left Russia and came to Hogwarts; how she met Professor  
Lupin."

Harry looked cautiously at her. "Yeah, I do."

Shan glanced at Robert, who was helping Dean with the props, then quickly averted her  
eyes as Robert, feeling her gaze on him, turned to look at her.

"I know I've been treating her badly," she admitted. "Robert has been telling me for weeks  
to stop it."

She paused. Harry looked at her, feeling hopeful.

"I know he's right," she said slowly. "I'm getting there. I know there's some story behind her  
coming here; Robert knows, but he won't tell me. He said I should ask you, because you  
were there."

Harry looked at her. At last, she was going to make up with Jeanne. He knew he was the  
one who could give the fairest account of Jeanne's story, besides Lupin and Dumbledore.  
Pixie and the dance rehearsal could wait; this was more important.

"It'll take a while," he said, looking around. "Why don't we find a quiet corner somewhere,  
and I'll tell you all about it."

- 


	26. The Flight of the Swallow

Thanks to those who gave feedback about the last chapter. It's true, the characters  
do seem to develop their own personalities, after a while. ~ Kim :o)

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------  


**Chapter XXVI**

**_The Flight of the Swallow_**

  
_Fly home, little bird  
Before it's too late.  
The gift you are holding  
May yet change your fate.  
  
  
  
_**T**he concert was going to begin in half an hour. People were running up and down, doing  
last-minute preparations. Pixie was in high spirits, having asked Ron to perform a Cheering  
Charm on her. She was carrying a pair of elevated boots, which Fatty had obtained because  
he was shorter than Chee Chong and felt that, as the King, he would look more dignified if  
he was taller than the Concubine.

"I'll polish your boots for you, Fatt," said Pixie, taking a jar and a small brush out.

"What on earth for?" said Fatty. "They can't be seen anyway; they'll be hidden by my robes."

Pixie just dimpled at him, and proceeded to apply the contents of the jar to the boots. Harry,  
Ron and Hermione were sitting by, watching as Shan helped Fatty and Chee Chong into their  
elaborate costumes. She had already applied their makeup on for them, and they looked  
extremely strange and painted-up. Shan herself was wearing her dance costume, and had  
removed her glasses and put on her makeup. She looked very pretty indeed, and Harry  
had been speechless for a few minutes, when he first saw her.

Parvati came rustling up, resplendent in her Kathak costume. She was clutching a set of tabla  
drums, the bells about her ankles jingling.

"Hermione, let's practise those Special Effects Charms again," she said, looking flustered. "I  
want the lights to match my costume orange, not yellow, and they have to come bursting  
out more brightly at the end."

Hermione got up and followed her to the stage, feeling around in her robes for her wand.

Dean came hurrying up.

"Where's Robert?" he said. "I need help putting up the supports for the Chinese palace."

"Actually, we don't need such an elaborate palace, Dean," said Fatty, adjusting his robes, "You've  
totally overdone it. Props in Chinese opera are usually very simple and few in number."

Dean just shrugged, and hurried off to look for Robert. Fatty looked impatiently at Pixie.

"Xiao-Yan, hurry up with those boots," he said. "I tell you, no one will be able to see them; you're  
wasting your time and shoe polish."

"Just a few more layers," said Pixie, with a mulish expression on her face. She had almost used up  
the entire jar of polish.

Shan gave Fatty and Chee Chong their Voice Potion, and they sounded extremely queer after  
drinking it, their voices having become exceedingly high-pitched.

"The reverse potion is in this flask," said Shan, placing it on a side table. "You can take it after  
your performance."

Fatty nodded, pulled his boots away from Pixie and put them on, and then disappeared off  
toward the stage with Chee Chong.

Shan came and sat next to Harry, who was watching Parvati and Hermione rehearse the Kathak  
dance. Parvati's tabla drums were busily playing themselves at one end of the stage. After a while  
Ron went over to Pixie to help her with something. Several Gryffindors went past, and giggled  
when they saw Shan and Harry together, but Shan didn't seem to notice them. She glanced  
around from time to time, and Harry knew that she was looking for Robert.

After a while, everyone got into position, and the lights dimmed. Seamus went up and did his  
hornpipe. He tripped once, but nobody seemed to mind. After that, Pixie mounted the stage,  
and began to play her _er-hu_.

Shan was twining her long dance ribbon around in her hands, and was beginning to look more  
and more agitated.

"Robert's not around," she whispered to Harry. "I'm afraid something's happened to him."

Harry glanced around. There was no sign of Robert.

"We can check the Marauder's Map," he whispered, seeing how anxious she looked.

Shan looked relieved. They quietly left their seats, and went up the spiral staircase to the  
dormitory.

Harry scanned through the Map; Robert was in the Astronomy Tower, near the top floor.

"What's he doing there!" said Shan, looking alarmed. She evidently thought he was going to  
jump. "I'm going to look for him."

Harry laid a hand on her arm.

"Your dance is up next," he said. "I'll go."

He led the way down the staircase, having stuffed the Map inside his robes, and watched her  
make her way to the stage before going over to the portrait hole, and climbing out.

Harry checked the Map and saw that Robert was still in the same location. He went up the last  
flight of stairs, rounded the bend, and then stopped, expecting to see Robert in front of him.

The corridor was not lit, and there was no moon that night, but a faint, diffuse light was shining  
in through a window set rather high in the north-facing wall. Someone was standing at the  
window, just where the Map showed Robert to be, looking out.

Harry went a bit closer. It should be Robert, looking out of the window. It should be. But it  
wasn't. It couldn't be. The person standing there was tall, taller than Harry. And yet, as he  
turned and looked at Harry, Harry saw that the boy was Chinese, and that he wore glasses,  
as Robert did, only these glasses were normal ones

Harry stood there in amazement, staring at the tall boy, who looked gravely back at him for  
a moment, then smiled.

"There are meteor showers tonight," he said casually, as if it was perfectly natural for Harry to  
have come popping up out of the darkness. He turned back to the window and looked out  
again. "Chee Chong and I planned some time ago to come up here and have a look, but then  
the concert came up."

Harry went over to where the boy was, and looked out of the window. The night sky was  
alive with shooting stars. They were arriving in great numbers, pouring like waves of shining  
rain through the sky.

Harry watched them for a few moments, but the person standing next to him intrigued him  
more, and he soon turned back to look at him instead.

It was Robert; it had to be - he had the same voice, and it looked like him - that is, the  
way he should have looked, if he had been of normal height.

Robert, seeing his expression, smiled again, and then started shrinking. Smaller and smaller  
he became, until he had reached his usual height. He stood there, now too short to see out  
the window, looking up at Harry, a faintly amused look on his face.

Harry found his voice.

"Howhow did you do that?"

Robert gave a small shrug.

"I don't know," he said. "I just can."

Harry was silent for a moment. Were all the Chinese people he met going to turn out to be  
shape-shifters?

"Are you a shape-shifter?" he asked. "I mean, can you change your appearance, as well as  
your size?"

Robert looked thoughtfully at him, then shrugged again.

"I don't know," he said, "I never had to try. I know I can change my height, because there  
have always been occasions, like now, where it would have been more convenient to be tall;  
but I've never encountered any occasion where I needed to transform into another animal."

It was on the tip of Harry's tongue to suggest he try now, but somehow, it didn't seem quite  
the thing one could ask Robert.

Robert, turning back to the window, grew himself to a height where he could look out of it  
again.

Harry looked at him. Although he had known for some time that Robert was several years  
older than all of them, he had not been able to believe it till now. Robert had always seemed  
twelve or thirteen to him, some sort of child prodigy, able to perform practically any spell.  
But now, looking at him, he suddenly realised that Robert was in fact, nineteen. He looked  
so much nicer now too, and with his glasses like normal ones, that Harry wondered why he  
didn't just permanently stay this way.

"Why - " he began, and then broke off, not sure exactly how to ask the question.

Robert, however, seemed to read his mind.

"Shan prefers me the other way," he said, as if this was the most important consideration. "She  
says that's the way I was born, the way I really am." He paused, then added, "And she's right."

"You mean, she's seen you like this before?" said Harry.

Robert nodded.

Harry couldn't think of anything further to say, so, seeing Robert looking out of the window  
again, turned and looked out at the meteors once more.

The darkness around them felt comforting, and Harry guessed that Robert had allowed  
his glasses to revert back to normal because there was no one up here to hide his emotions  
from. After several minutes of silence, he turned and looked at Robert again.

"It seems as if there's nothing you can't do," he said. "Have you thought about what you plan  
to do, once you finish at Shao-Lin?"

Robert continued to look out of the window, and didn't reply at once.

"It's true," he said, after a while. "Sometimes I feel as if I could do almost anything, if I only  
wanted to try. But " he paused, as if considering how to phrase what he wanted to say.

Harry, feeling there was more coming, stood and waited.

"The only things worth doing in life are those that you do for other people," said Robert, at  
length. "Not for oneself. I've never done anything worthwhile for anyone, all my life, because  
I'm a loner. Besides Shan and my parents, there isn't anyone else I care about, and I don't  
think there will be. My parents won't always be with me, and Shan and I will one day go  
our separate ways. What will happen then, I have no clear idea."

He fell silent, still looking out of the window.

"You can join forces with us, and help fight Voldemort," suggested Harry. "You've got so  
much talent, you might be able to defeat him, one day."

Robert didn't flinch at the mention of Voldemort's name. He turned, and the look that he  
gave Harry was very direct.

"It's not in my destiny to face Lord Voldemort, Harry," he said, quietly. "It's in yours. You  
know it, as well as I do. It is your destiny to face him, and has always been."

Harry looked numbly back at him, then let his gaze fall to the floor. He felt as if someone  
has just thrown a bucket of icy water onto him. Yes, he knew it. The thought of it chilled  
him, but he realised he had known it, all alongever since that day, when Hagrid had first  
told him how his parents had died

He looked at Robert again.

"You see inside people, don't you," he said. "You know what frightens each of us most, like  
Yu-Lin. You're the only one who understands Shan."

Robert looked at him, and seemed to hesitate; then he reached a hand out, and gently placed  
it on Harry's shoulder.

Harry felt a faint surge, as if something was being pulled out of him, from the depths of his  
being. It flowed out of him, and took shape beside him, a few feet from the window : the  
images of his mother and father were standing there, next to him, looking at him.

Robert lowered his hand.

"I can see someone and know what's inside," he agreed, looking at the images, which were  
beginning to dim. "I know what you desire most."

He was quiet for a moment, watching as the images faded away, then turned to Harry.

"I wish I could bring them back for you," he said, "but I can't. I can give you something else,  
though."

He reached out, and took Harry's left hand, and held it palm up, near the window. Harry felt  
a surging force again, fainter this time, and then a misty light also started pouring in the window.  
Robert was collecting the starlight from the meteors. It poured in onto Harry's hand, and  
concentrated itself there, forming silvery images of James and Lily Potter on his palm, looking  
up at him. The expressions of love on their faces was very evident.

Robert let go of Harry's hand, and Harry brought it near himself and looked at his palm.

"You'll be able to look at them at night, when it's dark," said Robert. "Our hands are not made  
of a substance that retains starlight well, so they'll fade in a week or two, once the starlight  
diffuses out. You'll always remember the looks on their faces though, especially when things  
in your life are difficult. It will help you through those times."

Harry didn't trust himself to speak, at that moment. He looked at his parents' faces, smiling up  
at him in the darkness.

Robert was silent for a minute or so, looking at the images he had just created. Then he said,  
"It's my parting gift to you, I guess; after tonight, the exchange will be over, and we may not  
meet again."

Harry looked at Robert. It seemed that after four months in the exchange programme, he still  
didn't know Robert at all. The question came into his mind, "Who _is_ he, really?"

But it wasn't quite the sort of thing to ask, or that had an answer, so what he said in the end was,

"What about you? What do _you_ desire most?"

Something seemed to flicker in Robert's eyes, and Harry held his breath, hoping his glasses  
wouldn't change back to their usual state. Robert glanced at him, then turned and looked  
out at the star-filled sky.

"What do I want most?" he said. He looked out at the meteors, and then Harry saw that the  
starlight was collecting again. In it poured, onto a spot near the window in front of them, and  
formed into a life-size image of Shan : a different Shan, with head held high, and a serene smile  
on her face. The expression in her eyes was confident and happy, with none of the hopelessness  
and despair that so often clouded it.

"That's what I would like," said Robert, looking at the image with satisfaction. "That's how she  
should look, if life hadn't treated her the way it has. I can do almost any spell, or conjure up  
anything I want, but I can't give her that."

They stood looking at the silvery image, which was already beginning to fade, but which was  
still smiling at them. Harry, glancing at Robert, was startled by the expression in his eyes.

He does care for her, thought Harry. Hermione had been right.

"Maybe you can - " he began, but then a noise from behind made him stop, and he saw that  
Robert was now looking at someone behind him.

Harry turned around. Shan was standing there, in her traditional dance costume and with  
makeup still on her face. Her dance must have ended, and she had come up to find out  
where they were. She appeared rather pale, in the dim light, and was looking at Robert.

"We have to talk," she said, not looking at all surprised that he was taller than her, or that  
his glasses were normal.

"All right," said Robert quietly.

Harry turned to look at the starlight image. It was rapidly disappearing, the starlight diffusing  
away in all directions and fading.

He turned back, and saw that Robert was looking at Shan's outfit with approval.

"You look nice," he said, smiling at her.

Shan looked at him for a moment, and her lips trembled. She suddenly came forward, and  
put her arms around him, and buried her face in his shoulder.

Robert said nothing, but simply held her quietly and let her cry everything out. Harry, watching,  
suspected that he must have comforted her in a similar way, many times in the past.

He knew he shouldn't be there, so he turned and made his way down the Tower, looking at the  
images of his parents on his palm, which became invisible once he reached the brightly lit lower  
floors.

The concert still hadn't ended when Harry got back, and he saw that Fatty and Chee Chong  
were just starting their act. Dean's props looked magnificent; he had copied the Tian-Long  
palace, using the photographs Hermione had taken in China as a guide, and he had created  
several pagodas as well, which reached almost to the ceiling. They looked rather unstable,  
though, and Harry kept his fingers crossed, hoping they wouldn't topple over before the  
performance ended.

Fatty and Chee Chong were making the strangest cat-like sounds, accompanied by the  
occasional beating of a drum. They were half way through when, to Harry's astonishment,  
two furry black-and-white balls suddenly rolled onto the stage, over to Fatty, and disappeared  
under his voluminous robes.

Fatty, feeling the Pandas attaching themselves to his boots, took a step back, and then kicked  
one leg forward, then the other, in an attempt to dislodge them. Pixie, sitting nearby with Ron,  
began to giggle. Ron looked suspiciously at her, and then whispered, "_What did you put on  
those boots_?"

Fatty kicked violently with one foot, and one of the Pandas flew out from under his robes and  
over to Chee Chong, who promptly jumped aside and knocked over one of the pagodas. Fatty  
took a few steps backward, and then lost his balance, and fell onto one of the palace walls.

The pagoda toppled over, onto the next pagoda, which promptly fell on the next as well, in a  
kind of domino effect, the last one falling straight off the stage and into the audience. The palace  
walls gave way, and the entire structure collapsed on top of Fatty, at the same time knocking  
the stage lights over and plunging the entire common room into darkness.

Several of the girls screamed, and those in the audience in front of the falling pagoda leapt up  
in an effort to get out of the way. There was confusion for a while as people began running up  
and down in the dark, knocking into each other, and taking their wands out and lighting them.  
Fatty and Chee Chong appeared to be unscathed, for they were shouting angrily at Pixie in  
their high-pitched voices. Pixie, as far as Harry could tell, was still sitting in her seat, crying  
with laughter.

Hermione set off her Special Effects Charms, which illuminated the room to some extent.  
Fatty and Chee Chong came off the stage, and went over to the Restoring Potion and  
swallowed it, so that they could get their normal voices back. They then came grimly after  
Pixie, who, still overcome with mirth, darted toward the portrait hole and disappeared  
through it.

Order had been restored, the mess on the stage cleared away, and the food and drink  
brought out, when Shan and Robert finally came down from the Astronomy Tower.  
Shan's eyes were slightly red, but she looked fairly calm. She had washed her makeup  
off, and changed back into her normal robes. Robert had shrunk back to his usual small  
self, and his glasses were reflecting the surroundings again.

They sat down at the end of a long table, where Harry was sitting with Ron and Pixie.  
The latter had returned earlier, still giggling, together with Chee Chong and Fatty, who  
were still scowling and looking extremely disgruntled.

Pixie was in high spirits, laughing and chattering away, when a silver postal dragon suddenly  
flew in the window, and over to her.

Pixie cheerfully took the letter and dismissed the dragon. She looked at the handwriting, and  
pulling a face, said, "It's from my father."

The dragon, however, did not fly away. It circled once around the room, then came back  
and perched itself on Shan's shoulder, staring at Pixie, as if waiting for something.

Shan, who was looking slightly subdued, reached a hand out and stroked the dragon.  
Pixie, noticing, gave an impatient little toss of the head. She didn't bother to read the letter  
yet, but slipped it inside her robes for later.

The dragon gave a displeased chirp. It spread its wings and flew over to her, and gave a  
disapproving hiss. Pixie, afraid it would set fire to her hair, shooed it away.

"Xiao-Yan, I think you should read the letter now," said Shan, quietly. "It might be something  
important."

"What's so urgent!" said Pixie crossly, raising a partial Shield so that the dragon, which was  
still trying to land on her shoulder, couldn't get near her. "I'll be home in a few days, anyway."

"That's an Express dragon," said Shan. "Your father might want a reply straight away."

Harry looked surprised. "Express dragon?"

"New breed," explained Shan. "They've been crossing this species with the Silverwing. It's still  
small, but it can Apparate, meaning you can send a letter anywhere within a few minutes. But  
it's horribly expensive."

Pixie, tired of fending the dragon off, finally brought the letter out and opened it. She stared at  
it for a few moments, then went pale, and stood up.

"What's the matter?" said Ron quickly.

But Pixie had already gone off to the other end of the table, where Fatty and Chee Chong  
were sitting with Seamus and Dean, drinking rice wine. The four of them had been at it for  
a while, and were beginning to look slightly tipsy.

"Fatt, I need to borrow your globe," said Pixie, tapping him on the shoulder.

Fatty looked up at her, his face red.

"Forget it," he said thickly, turning away, "You think I'm lending you anything after what you  
did?"

"Fatt!" said Pixie, becoming angry, "I need to call home, urgently!" She gave him a small kick  
on the ankle.

"No," said Fatty sulkily. "Go 'way. You ruined our performance."

"Fatt!" said Pixie again, looking rather desperate. She tugged at his sleeve, "Pei-Pei is dead!"

Fatty suddenly became completely sober.

"What?" he said, looking at her; his face had gone white. "What - what about your mother?"

Pixie's eyes widened, and she went as pale as Fatty.

"Give me the globe," she said, in a dangerously quiet voice. "You knew all along, didn't you?"

Fatty didn't reply; he took the globe out, and gave it to her.

Pixie turned around, and saw that Ron and all the others had followed her, and had been  
listening.

"Ron, come with me," she said, looking sick. Clasping the globe, she hurried out of the room,  
a frightened look on her face.

"What's happening, Fatt?" asked Shan quickly, as Ron and the postal dragon also started  
heading toward the portrait hole.

Fatty waited until they had disappeared, then said, "Someone has tried to poison her mother."

"What?" All of them stared at him. Harry noticed that Hermione had come over as well.

"I read the letter that Yu-Lin's father wrote, which Draco Malfoy destroyed," said Fatty. "In it,  
he said that he had taken care of my family, and Chee Chong's. He also mentioned that Singapore  
was too far away to bother doing anything to Shan or Robert, but he had enough connections in  
Taiwan to do something to Xiao-Yan's family."

"Who's Pei-Pei?" asked Hermione worriedly.

"The house-elf I recommended to her family," said Fatty. "Yu-Lin's father said that the easiest  
thing would be to poison Xiao-Yan's mother, because she was already sick anyway, and always  
trying all kinds of remedies. Yu-Lin's father mentioned a poison he had access to, for which no  
antidote existed.

"Most of our house-elves are quite money-minded, but Pei-Pei was the worst. When she heard  
about the situation, she volunteered to go work for Xiao-Yan's family, and test all the mother's  
medication before allowing her to consume it. Lady Wen-Li also read the letter; but she didn't  
tell Xiao-Yan or her family about its contents, because it might alarm them unnecessarily after  
all, it seemed doubtful Yu-Lin's father would go ahead with the plan, now that the letter had been  
discovered. Still, Lady Wen-Li wanted to take precautions, and she was willing to pay a handsome  
sum to any house-elf who would volunteer for the job."

"But, that's cruel!" protested Hermione.

Fatty shrugged.

"Pei-Pei knew the danger," he said. "She was given a full set of the existing antidotes. She didn't  
believe Yu-Lin's father would go ahead with his plan, anyway, because the letter had already  
been discovered."

Ron came back a few minutes later, looking rather shaken, and handed the globe back to Fatty.

"Pixie's mother has been poisoned," he said. "The poison was a slow-acting one - the house-elf  
didn't feel its effects till an hour after drinking it. Her mother's got twenty-four hours to live. Her  
last wish is to see all her daughters married before she leaves this world, and Pixie's father has  
arranged a match for her. She's to be married the minute she gets home."

He sank down in one of the chairs, looking stunned.

"Where is she now?" asked Shan quickly.

"Packing," said Ron, pouring himself a goblet of rice wine, which Hermione, frowning, took away  
almost immediately.

Shan got up, obviously intending to go and help Pixie. She hesitated, then tugged at Robert's sleeve,  
indicating she wanted him to go with her. Harry, watching as they both went up to the dormitory,  
knew that Shan was now treasuring every minute she had left with Robert.

"Hermione, give it back!" said Ron crossly, trying to retrieve his goblet.

"Don't be silly, Ron," said Hermione worriedly. "You can't drown yourself in drink. You should be  
giving her moral support now, while she's still around."

Ron covered his face with his hands and groaned. Then he nodded, and gloomily got up and made  
his way over to the spiral staircase.

An hour later, they all gathered in the Entrance Hall to see Pixie off. Her eldest sister had Portkeyed  
over, and was waiting for her at the foot of the marble staircase.

Pixie looked too depressed to hug anyone, or shake hands, as she normally would have. She nodded  
at all of them, then turned to Ron, who had been following her, carrying her bag.

"Thanks," she muttered, taking it from him. She looked as if she wanted to say something, then  
changed her mind. Reaching inside her robes, she took out a small bundle, wrapped in silk. She  
looked at it for a moment, then held it out to Ron.

"Goodbye, Ron," she said quietly.

Ron's face went very red, and he reached out and took the bundle. His hands were shaking slightly,  
and he seemed unable to say anything.

Pixie looked at him for a moment, then suddenly went up on tiptoe and gave him a quick kiss on  
the mouth. She then picked her bag up, and went over to where her sister was waiting.

Lavendar sniffed, and wiped a few tears away from her cheeks. The rest all watched silently as  
Pixie's sister took the bag from her, and they took their positions next to the Portkey. Pixie turned  
and faced all of them, her face pale. Then she and her sister reached their hands out and touched  
the Portkey, and were gone.

Ron stood there, staring numbly at the spot where Pixie had been standing. Hermione, next to  
him, put a sympathetic hand on his arm.

"What's in the bundle?" she said softly.

Ron looked down at the bundle in his hands, as if he had forgotten it was there. He unwrapped  
the layers of silk, and eventually a delicate carving of two birds, side by side, in pale green jade,  
was revealed.

"Oh," said Shan softly, "Mandarin ducks. She carved it for you, Ron."

Ron's face went even redder. He looked afraid to speak, in case he broke down. Harry, seeing  
this, said, "C'mon," and taking him by the arm, pulled him away from the group and started  
leading him back up to Gryffindor Tower.

The common room still had people in it, though it was getting late, so the two of them started  
going up to the dormitory. They were halfway up the spiral staircase when Ron suddenly turned  
to Harry.

"Think I need to be alone for a while, Harry," he muttered, "All happened so fast need to  
sort things out in my head. I feel all fogged up inside."

"OK," said Harry, looking rather worriedly at him. Ron looked gloomily at the jade carving in  
his hands again, then turned and went on up the staircase.

Harry descended the staircase, to find that the others had come up as well. Fatty, seeing him,  
took him by the arm and led him to one side.

"Harry," he said, looking at him very seriously, "I must tell you this before I leave. Mui Sing  
and I have completed a project which has been a huge success. I have made enough money  
to let my father start over again."

"That's great, Fatty," said Harry.

Fatty looked even more serious.

"So I must thank you, Harry," he said earnestly, "You see, Madam Tang was right after all -  
you brought me good luck!"

"But - " began Harry.

"So, I must give you a share of the profit," said Fatty, not letting him finish. He was looking  
rather guilty and embarrassed now. To Harry's alarm, he took a cloth bag out, which clinked  
and jingled, and obviously contained a lot of money.

"Fatty, I can't take that!" protested Harry. "I didn't do a thing. You earned it; you keep it!"

"You must!" said Fatty, worriedly. "I could not have succeeded without you. It will be on my  
conscience, if I do not reward you!"

"No," said Harry flatly, "Out of the question. I'm not taking a single coin. If you really want to  
give that money away, give it to Chee Chong. It'll help his parents get the farm going again."

Fatty pleaded and cajoled, but Harry remained unmoved. Finally, Fatty relented.

"Chong needs this money," he agreed. "But I must consider how to give it to him he won't  
accept it, either"

He stood there, frowning, and Harry left him at it after a while.

Ten minutes later, Harry saw Fatty taking his lacquer box out; he tapped it with his wand, so  
that it swelled and became three times as large. He then started going from student to student,  
offering the box to each, and letting them draw a gift from it.

"My way of saying good-bye," he said, winking at Harry, as he offered the box to Shan.

"Oh, do we get something too?" said Shan, putting her hand in and taking out a small box of  
pineapple tarts.

Fatty left Chee Chong right to the last. He managed to lead him to a quiet corner, then held the  
box out to him.

Chee Chong put his hand in, and took the cloth bag out. He held it up for a moment, looked  
absent-mindedly at it, as if wondering why it was so heavy, then opened it and looked inside.

Fatty stood there, watching him, and holding his breath. Chee Chong was staring at the contents  
of the bag as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He rubbed his eyes, then looked again.  
Then, as Harry had feared, he began to turn the bag upside down, to tip its contents onto the  
floor.

"No, don't," hissed Fatty, putting a restraining hand on Chee Chong's arm, and darting a  
worried look at the students in the room who had still not gone up to bed. "You've got the  
grand prize. The box only yields one such prize on each occasion; we mustn't let the others  
see, or they will become jealous."

Chee Chong was still staring at the bag, his eyes bulging.

"It is money!" he pointed out, in case Fatty hadn't noticed.

"Yes, yes, I know," whispered Fatty hurriedly. "I told you, you've managed to draw the grand  
prize. I tell you what, why don't we bring it up to the dormitory and show it to Chester."

He took Chee Chong by the arm, and began firmly leading him up to the dormitory. As they were  
both disappearing inside, Fatty turned around and winked again at Harry, who was still standing  
below, watching the two of them with a grin.

Harry had a slightly hollow feeling inside, as they went down the following morning to see the  
Tian-Long students off. It had been an eventful and pleasant exchange programme, and it was  
almost a pity it had to end.

Chen-Kang had already arrived, and Hagrid was there, petting the Silverwing. Shan was talking  
to Dumbledore, while Professor McGonagall was shaking hands and saying a few words to each  
of the other Chinese students.

After a few minutes, Robert and Chen-Kang mounted the dragon, and flew over to the lake where  
Sang Nila was waiting. While Robert was securing the Merlion to the Silverwing's tail, Shan came  
over to Harry.

"I've asked Professor Dumbledore if Robert and I can come back on the fifteenth day of the Lunar  
New Year, Harry," she said. "The next few weeks will be the Lunar New Year holidays, you know,  
and although the fifteenth day is the last day of the New Year, school will not begin until three days  
later."

"Oh," said Harry, and suddenly felt better. At least, he would see Shan and Robert again. Then he  
asked the next obvious question. "Why?"

Shan glanced at Jeanne, who was saying goodbye to Fatty and Chee Chong. Jeanne was looking  
subdued, and Harry knew she was worried because she had still not given Shan the message from  
Mrs Chen.

"I need to apologise to Chien-Mei," said Shan quietly. "I know it was wrong, the way I've been  
treating her, and she did so much for my mother." She saw Harry's expression, and quickly  
explained, "I don't feel ready to talk to her right now - I still need some time to sort my thoughts  
out ... I need to talk to Robert - I can't get used to the idea of his going to Shao-Lin. I don't think  
I'll feel ready to speak to her till I've settled all this within myself, and I hope I'll have done that  
by the time the holidays are ending."

She stopped then, because Chen-Kang and Robert had returned, and Robert was coming over.

"I guess Shan had told you that we're coming back," he said, taking Harry's hand and giving it a  
quick shake, "so I won't say goodbye, but see you soon."

Fatty and Chee Chong were now coming over as well. Robert released Harry's hand and gave  
him a smile, then turned and made his way over to Jeanne.

"Good-bye, Harry," said Fatty, crushing Harry's hand in his, "Come and visit me in Hong Kong  
one day."

"And visit me at my palent's farm too," added Chee Chong. Harry grinned at them.

"I will," he said.

Robert, who had finished talking to Jeanne, went over to the Silverwing and was about to mount  
it, when Hermione went up to him with a small packet in her hand.

"This is for you," she said, her cheeks rather pink. "A small farewell gift."

Robert seemed astonished. He hesitated, then took the packet, and looked at her.

"I don't have anything for you," he said.

Hermione smiled, and gave a small shrug.

"It's nothing much, anyway; it's a bookmark, in the form of a Merlion. It pokes its head out of the  
book and growls at you when you're looking for your page."

Everyone gathered around as the Chinese students mounted the Silverwing. Ron was clutching the  
Chinese Chess set, which Chee Chong had given him as a farewell present. Jeanne was looking  
relieved; Robert must have told her that Shan would be coming back.

Shan, seated behind Chen-Kang, was carrying the Pandas inside her bag. Their heads were poking  
out of the bag, and Ping's sad little face was turned toward Harry. Harry suddenly heard her furry  
voice in his head. He didn't have the Translator on, but he knew that she was saying goodbye.

As the Silverwing turned and faced away from the castle, Harry saw Ting-Ting suddenly materialising  
on Shan's shoulder. Seamus and the other Gryffindors were waving, and shouting that they were going  
to come to China one day. The Tian-Long students just grinned and waved in reply, and then the  
Silverwing launched itself into the air, and flew rapidly away.

"Well, that's it," said Hermione, as the dragon disappeared into the horizon. "It was good while it lasted,  
wasn't it?"

"Yeah," said Harry, looking at Ron, who was looking depressed and obviously thinking of Pixie.

They turned, and made their way back into the castle, because classes were going to start. In a few  
minutes, the open field in front of the Entrance Hall steps was empty of people. The exchange programme  
was over, at last.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Although the exchange has ended, this is not the end of the story, there are still a few more chapters. ~ Kim :o) ] 

**Chinese Notes** :

Mandarin ducks are symbolic of marital fidelity and happiness. It is believed that the ducks die of sadness if separated.

- 


	27. Chinese New Year

_Note from Kim :_

1. After this, there are 3 more chapters and then the story ends. I will be releasing   
the last 3 chapters all at once, because they run together. I don't want to post any more   
footnotes in those chapters, or it will break the continuity, so I'd just like to mention   
here, in case anyone is interested in reading more of my writing, that I do intend to   
write a few more fics, but not for some time. For various reasons, I had to cram writing   
Jade Dragon into 3 months, including researching all the background, and it was a bit   
exhausting. I'm going to take a break from writing for a while, and just do a bit of   
reading. I will update my author profile now and then to let people know if I am getting   
anywhere with the next story, so please check my profile if you'd like to know when my   
next fic will be out.

Erm...I've noticed that my account doesn't update unless I upload a fic. This means that   
whenever I update my profile I might have to upload a dummy fic and then erase it ...  
so for those who have me on author alert, please don't be surprised if you receive an  
alert and then find that I haven't uploaded a fic after all. I am going to email Xing and   
hopefully get this fixed.

  
2. _About this chapter_ - I have allowed something here to remain hidden, so you may not   
understand everything you read here. I did this for a reason, but after some thought have   
decided that it's better to leave it unexplained. However not knowing shouldn't make a lot  
of difference to your enjoyment of the story. (email me if you have any objections to this!)

(If I one day decide to write a sequel to this, I promise it will all be explained there. But at  
the moment I have no plans for a sequel in the near future) 

~ Kim :o) gryffindor1970@yahoo.com  


  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------  


**Chapter XXVII**

**_Chinese New Year_**

  
_The year is ended Spring has come,  
But I must take leave of my home  
Knowing that the trees in this eastern garden  
Without me, will still bear flowers._

_~ Su Ting, Tang Dynasty  
_

**H**arry found himself sometimes thinking about the exchange programme over the next  
few weeks, and wondering if Shan and Robert were managing to talk things out. At night,  
he would lie in the dark and somehow, he would imagine himself back in the Astronomy  
Tower again, watching the meteors. He often lay awake in bed, looking at the images of  
his parents on his palm, and when he closed his eyes and went to sleep the images persisted  
in his mind, as if they were there with him, keeping watch over him.

Shan and Robert appeared in the Gryffindor common room shortly after breakfast on the  
fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year. Something seemed different about them, but Harry  
couldn't figure out what. They looked the same as usual, Shan cheerful, and Robert placid.  
Shan, after greeting Harry, spent a while smiling and saying hello to the others. Robert,  
spotting Hermione in a corner doing her homework, took a rather battered book out from  
his robes, looked at it for a few moments, and then went over to her.

"This is for you," he said, holding the book out.

Hermione looked surprised.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get a new one," said Robert, as she took the book from him, "But it's  
a good book. One of my favourites."

Hermione was examining the book, an odd expression on her face.

"Are you sure you want me to have it?" she asked slowly.

Robert nodded.

"I've read it so often, I practically know all of it by heart, anyway."

Hermione turned the book around in her hands, looking thoughtful. Then, she took her quill  
out and handed it to him.

"Will you write something inside? Something I can remember you by."

Robert looked surprised, but took the book and quill. He thought for a few moments, then  
began writing. Hermione stood by, looking over his shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'll write the English translation out, as well," he said, when he saw her expression.

Shan, seeing that Robert was busy, came over to Harry.

"Come and see Chien-Mei with me, Harry," she said, "and you can watch an old Chinese  
custom who knows, you might come away slightly richer, as well."

She grinned mischievously at him, then turned and climbed out of the portrait hole. Harry  
followed, feeling curious, but pleased that she was going to see Jeanne at last.

The minute Jeanne opened the door, Harry knew she wasn't well. She looked pale and  
tired, and appeared to have lost some weight. However, she was very pleased to see Shan.

Shan greeted her prettily in Chinese, and then reached inside her robes and took two large  
Mandarin oranges out, and offered them to Jeanne.

Jeanne looked surprised, but smiled and accepted the oranges. She then took several small  
envelopes made of bright red paper out of her pocket.

"Here you are, and you might as well take Robert's for him, too," she said, handing the  
envelopes to Shan. She smiled at Harry. "And there's one for you too, sir."

Harry took the red envelope and looked at it; a picture of a dragon was embossed on it,  
in gold. Opening it, he saw a bright gold Galleon inside.

"Thanks," he said, rather surprised.

Jeanne smiled in response, but then suddenly held one hand up to her mouth, and retched.  
She turned, and ran into the bathroom, and was violently sick.

Harry watched as she disappeared inside the bathroom, startled. Shan gave a small squeak  
of excitement, and grabbed his arm.

"You know what this means, don't you?"

Harry didn't; he looked at her, confused. "What?"

Shan was looking at the partly open bathroom door, an excited expression on her face.

"She's throwing up!" she hissed. "Surely you know what that means!"

Harry was rather nonplussed.

"She's eaten the wrong thing?"

Shan stared at him for a moment, as if to see whether he was joking, and then began to laugh.

"Oh, Harry," she said, chuckling, "You don't know _anything_, do you?"

Harry looked at her, bewildered. Shan pushed her glasses up her nose, still shaking with laughter,  
then controlled herself with an effort.

"She's _pregnant_, silly."

"What?" Harry was even more startled. Then he said quickly, "But that's not possible."

Shan raised an eyebrow.

"Jeanne can't have children, Shan," he said in an undertone. "She told me so, ages ago; Madam  
Pomfrey checked her when she first came here."

"Then why - " began Shan, but Jeanne was now coming out of the bathroom, her face white.

"Are you all right?" asked Harry awkwardly.

She nodded, and then sat down. Seeing Shan's expression, she shook her head.

"It's not what you think, Shan."

"You should at least go see Madam Pomfrey again, and check," said Shan. "I heard about the  
Stardust - maybe it cured you!"

There was a slight flicker in Jeanne's eyes.

"I'd hoped that, myself," she said, slowly, and then hesitated, "But right now, I don't want to  
know. And please, don't tell Remus." She looked anxiously at both of them.

Harry and Shan looked at her, puzzled. Jeanne shifted uneasily, her eyes on the floor.

"Deorg is coming back," she said quietly. "Somehow, I just feel it in my bones. That's why  
I'm not feeling well. I think the throwing up is due to bulimia. I feel under stress, all the time  
now. It's always on my mind. I have dreams about it, at night that he's coming, to kill me."

She glanced at them, then continued.

"If he does kill me, then believe me, if I am expecting a child, it would be better if Remus  
never knew."

Shan was silent for a moment, then said softly, "Even if you don't see Madam Pomfrey, you  
would know, wouldn't you? If you missed you know"

Jeanne shot a glance at Harry, then shook her head and said, "Mine is very irregular, Shan;  
sometimes, I don't have it for a few months."

Shan sat down next to her, pleased at the prospect of a woman-to-woman talk.

"That happens to some people," she agreed. "Mine is very regular, though. I'd know, straight  
away."

Harry didn't have a clue as to what they were talking about.

Jeanne smiled, then looked at the clock.

"I have to get to work," she said. "Shan-Shan, you'll be here for the next three days, won't  
you?"

Shan nodded.

"You and I must have a talk," said Jeanne. "I'm busy now, and Remus won't be well, tonight  
and tomorrow, because it's full moon tonight. But tomorrow night, Parvati and Lavendar want  
me to prepare a steamboat buffet they are using your presence here as an excuse to have  
one, and Professor Dumbledore has agreed. After that, we must talk."

Shan nodded again. Jeanne put an arm around her, and gave her shoulders a quick squeeze,  
then saw them to the door.

Shan was quiet all the way back to the Gryffindor common room. Harry was still wondering  
what she and Jeanne had been talking about, but he assumed it was some woman's thing.

"What's a steamboat buffet?"

Shan, who had been lost in thought, came back with a jerk.

"It's not really what it sounds like," she said, laughing a bit, "It's something like a barbecue,  
only you cook the food in boiling stock; it's quite fun."

She fell silent again, thinking, and then suddenly said,

"You know, Harry, I think we should ask Madam Pomfrey to check Chien-Mei."

Harry looked at her, surprised.

"If Chien-Mei is really expecting a child, then she must be hidden away somewhere, where  
this Deorg can't find her, till she gives birth," said Shan.

"I doubt if Jeanne is pregnant, Shan," said Harry. "Madam Pomfrey has checked her before."

Shan didn't seem convinced.

"The Stardust could have cured her," she said obstinately. "She should at least find out. Don't  
you see - if she's expecting, she must have the child. If Deorg does kill her one day, then what  
about Professor Lupin? He won't have anyone left. If they have a child, at least he'll still have  
that, to remember her by."

She fell silent for a few moments, and then said softly, as if talking to herself,  
"If you're going to lose someone you love, that's one way to keep a part of him that will  
always stay with you, even when he's gone."

Harry knew she was talking about something else now, but he wasn't sure what she meant.  
He was going to ask, but they had reached the portrait hole. Shan, on entering the common  
room, went over to Robert and gave him his red packet. Harry had to go for Transfiguration;  
when he came back to the common room after the class, he saw Shan and Robert still there,  
quietly talking in Chinese.

Harry felt certain that Shan must have told Robert about Jeanne's condition. He hesitated, then  
took the Translator out of his pocket.

"Leave it be, Shan it's between Professor Lupin and Chien-Mei."

"But Chien-Mei won't do anything what if Deorg kills her, and she really is expecting? Isn't it  
unfair to Professor Lupin?"

"It's none of our business. She doesn't want him to know, anyway. What if she really is pregnant,  
and Madam Pomfrey tells Professor Lupin then if Deorg kills Chien-Mei before she gives birth,  
Lupin will never get over it."

"That's precisely it if she's expecting, we should double the protection around her."

"She's already as safe here as she can possibly be. How much can the protection around her be  
increased?"

Harry took the Translator off, feeling slightly relieved. Shan tended to be impulsive, and he wouldn't  
put it past her to take it upon herself to tell Madam Pomfrey about Jeanne's condition. At least,  
Robert was talking some sense into her.

After a while, they seemed to have resolved the issue, and seeing Harry, Ron and Hermione doing  
their homework in a corner of the common room, came over to join them.

Robert had brought his usual collection of books to read. Shan had brought some of her Tian-Long  
assignments, which she had yet to finish, but ended up spending most of the time listening to Harry  
and Ron talking about Quidditch. Just before they were due to go for lunch, a postal dragon flew  
into the Gryffindor common room, and over to Ron.

Ron, guessing at once that the dragon had been sent by Pixie, took the letter from it with shaking  
hands. He spent a few minutes reading it, then lowered the letter, looking stunned.

The others, who had been watching, looked expectantly at him.

"It's all right," he said, now looking relieved, "Pixie's mother, that is. That project Lady Han-Yin  
was working on - it was to develop an antidote for the poison. Snape gave some to Pixie in a  
crystal swallow before she left. She said that the minute she got home, the swallow containing  
the antidote flew out of her bag and over to her mother, and tipped its contents down the mother's  
throat. She says her mother is well on the road to recovery, right now."

"That's great, Ron," said Harry.

"What about the wedding?" asked Shan cautiously.

"Pixie says that she's managed to get it postponed until she graduates from Tian-Long," said Ron.  
"She says she's going to figure out a way to get it cancelled altogether."

They went for lunch after that, Ron looking much more cheerful than he had for days. On the way  
to the Great Hall, Shan turned to Harry.

"Harry," she said hesitantly, "Do you think I can borrow your Invisibility Cloak tonight?"

Harry looked at her in surprise. "Why?"

She hesitated.

"It's full moon," she said, flushing slightly, "and I know Professor Lupin is going to transform. I  
know it sounds silly, but I would really like to see him as a wolf again, one last time."

Harry was amused.

"OK," he said. "But I'm coming along, too."

So, around eleven that night, which was about half an hour before the moon was due to rise,  
they checked the Marauder's Map and saw that Jeanne and Lupin were in their room. Taking  
the Cloak, they made their way there, and then Harry checked the Map again. Both Jeanne  
and Lupin were still visible, so he figured they were not doing anything private at the moment.  
Then Shan took her wand out and tapped the wall just next to the door. A spyhole appeared,  
wide enough for both of them to look in.

"Are you sure they can't see us?" hissed Harry.

"Yes," whispered Shan. "I learned this spell from Xiao-Yan. She's spied on countless people  
with it."

This didn't really enhance Harry's opinion of Pixie, but he supposed he couldn't judge, since he  
wasn't behaving any better himself, at the moment.

He and Shan peered through the spyhole into the room. A postal dragon had just delivered a  
letter and was flying over to the window and out. Curiously enough, the letter appeared to be  
for Lupin, and not Jeanne. Jeanne was sitting in a corner, keeping away some herbs; she had  
evidently just finished preparing the usual tonic for Lupin.

Lupin was standing some distance from the window, opening the letter with a surprised look on  
his face. Jeanne, for some reason, was watching him rather tensely.

Lupin's expression became even more surprised as he continued to read the letter, and then  
hardened, and became rather angry. Jeanne began to look even more tense.

"Who is the letter from?" she asked, quietly.

Lupin was still reading.

"Master Kung," he said, with a slight edge in his voice.

Jeanne went pale. She automatically lowered her hand to her pocket, as if to feel if something was  
in there, and then sat, watching Lupin anxiously.

Lupin had finished reading. He slowly lowered the letter, and looked at Jeanne. Then, he took his  
wand out, and pointed it at her pocket.

"_Accio_!" he said.

Something black shot out of the pocket, but before it could reach Lupin, Jeanne had cried out in  
dismay, and raised her hand and pointed at it. The black object suddenly seemed to hit something  
like an invisible wall, and fell to the ground with a clatter, midway between Jeanne and Lupin. Harry  
heard Shan give a small gasp, even as he recognised the object on the floor : it was the onyx tiger.

There was a dead silence in the room. Lupin was looking angrier than ever, while Jeanne was looking  
even paler.

Lupin looked at her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he said quietly.

Jeanne hung her head.

"I knew you wouldn't let me go ahead with it."

Lupin eyed the tiger on the floor for a moment.

"So all the while, I thought you were Portkeying to Tian-Long for lessons. But instead, you  
were with Snufflegint, practising in the grounds!"

Jeanne looked upset, because he was so angry.

"Remus, you don't understand," she said. "I had to do it. There's no other way."

"No other way?" said Lupin. "What about the Shielding? Isn't that enough to prevent Deorg from  
possessing you?"

"Yes, I can protect myself from him," said Jeanne. "But I can't attack and defeat him!"

"You're not supposed to!" said Lupin, angrily. "That task belongs to Dumbledore, or Bubcek and  
his people!"

"I thought so too, last time," said Jeanne quietly, "but not any more. You should know why - I told  
you, everything that she told me."

Lupin looked slightly exasperated.

"How reliable is she?" he said. "And Snufflegint? How can you trust him? You know his background!"

"Who are they talking about?" whispered Shan.

"Don't know," Harry whispered back.

"I trust him," said Jeanne. "You don't know his story. He joined the Tomb Sect because he wanted  
to learn their secrets and who their members were. Why do you think the Sect was overthrown so  
quickly after he left it?"

"How do you know he's telling the truth?" said Lupin. "He did his share of killing, while he was still  
in the Sect!"

"There's no proof of that," said Jeanne, sounding distressed.

"Deorg was his Sect Leader," Lupin reminded her grimly. "How do you know he isn't trying to help  
Deorg regain control of you again?"

"He isn't," said Jeanne stubbornly. "He came here to make amends. He told me, it was through him  
that Deorg first learned that shape-shifters existed, and conceived the idea of capturing one for his  
own purposes. When Septimus discovered who I was, he persuaded Master Kung to give him the  
onyx tiger, and came to Hogwarts to look for me."

"That onyx tiger is sucking the life out of you, Jeanne!" said Lupin, angrily. "I've been wondering  
why you've been looking so run-down for weeks. I thought Master Kung was working you too  
hard. And all the time, you've been hiding this from me!"

"It's the only way!" said Jeanne. "Septimus knows Deorg's weaknesses. One either has the gift  
to wield the Devil's Curse, or hasn't. Deorg does not have the gift. Neither did Liu Pei; that was  
why he couldn't use the tiger on Yang-Kang. The Devil's Curse is the only way I can defeat Deorg."

She suddenly noticed the time, and automatically picked up the goblet on the table.

"We can talk later," she said, going over to Lupin, "It's almost time; you'd better take this."

Lupin, however, ignored the goblet.

"We'll talk now, Jeanne," he said firmly. "You have to stop using that thing. It's draining the life out  
of you. Even Master Kung is worried; he said in the letter that he was shocked at how run-down  
you looked, when you started taking lessons from him again last month. He said he told you to  
stop using the tiger, but you seem to have ignored him - which is why he wrote to me."

Jeanne was looking rather desperate.

"Remus, you're going to transform any minute," she said, "for goodness' sake, take the tonic, and  
then we'll talk."

"The tonic isn't vital," said Lupin, "but this talk is."

Harry suddenly saw the clouds shift through the window, and the moon came out. Bright moonlight  
shone in; Lupin began to shake. Jeanne was watching, looking dismayed. She made a quick  
movement forward with the goblet, but it was too late; Lupin had already transformed into a wolf.

Jeanne stared at the wolf for a second, and then something seemed to snap inside her. She cried  
out in frustration, and taking the goblet, went over to the window and flung it out in a fury. Raising  
her arms, she transformed into an owl. Swooping over to where the onyx tiger was lying, she caught  
it in her talons, and headed back toward the window.

The wolf leapt at the owl, as if to prevent it from leaving, but the owl swerved aside, darted over to  
the window and out, and was gone.

The wolf bounded over to the window and stood there, resting its front paws on the sill, watching  
as the owl disappeared. Then it raised its muzzle to the sky and let off a long, anguished howl.

Shan abruptly tapped the spyhole with her wand, and it disappeared. She and Harry turned, and  
began quickly making their way back to the common room.

"We shouldn't have seen that, we shouldn't have seen that," Shan kept muttering, as they stumbled  
along in the dark. "Oh, my poor wolf!"

"That explains everything," said Harry, his mind still in a whirl from everything he had just heard.  
"What she and Snufflegint were doing in the grounds - he was teaching her how to use the onyx tiger!"

"And he didn't take the tonic," said Shan, still thinking about the wolf.

"Looks like Jeanne really intends to have her revenge on Deorg," said Harry.

"Oh, she mustn't, Harry," said Shan, softly. "From what we heard, I don't think she has mastered the  
Devil's Curse well enough yet."

"Well, I guess we don't need to worry," said Harry, "Lupin will be keeping an even sharper eye on  
her, now that he knows."

Shan seemed rather preoccupied the next morning. When Harry came back to the common room  
after his Charms class, she told him that she'd gone back to Jeanne and Lupin's room, and seen  
through the spyhole that Jeanne was back.

"I knocked on the door, and spoke to her," said Shan. "I told her to cancel the steamboat buffet,  
since she's not feeling well; but she refused to."

"How is Professor Lupin?" asked Harry.

"Chien-Mei said he was resting," said Shan. "I guess he feels worse, because he has not taken  
the tonic."

Hermione and Ron came up then; Hermione was holding a letter.

"Chee Chong just sent this, Harry," she said.

Harry, turning his attention to them, didn't notice Shan still looking preoccupied. She slipped out  
of the room, after a while.

Hermione was reading the letter. Ron was reading a newspaper cutting that had come together  
with the letter.

"He says the farm is all right," said Hermione, and then her eyes widened slightly. "He says he's  
received news that Yu-Lin's father has disappeared. It seems he got into trouble with some triads."

"Serves him right," said Harry.

"No one knows if he's still alive, but Chee Chong says that it's unlikely, knowing what the triads  
are like," said Hermione, and then lowered the letter. "He says he's enclosed a month-old  
newspaper article that we might be interested in reading." She looked at Ron, who was still  
reading the cutting. "What's the matter?"

Ron was reading with wide eyes. After a while, he lowered it, and looked at Harry.

"Blimey, Harry," he said, and hesitated, then held the cutting out to him, "Guess you'd better read  
it, yourself."

**_--------------SOUTH CHINA WIZARD'S POST-----------------_**

**------------------POTTER MANIA IN HONG KONG-----------------**

English boy wizard Harry Potter has been creating a storm among the Hong  
Kong wizarding elite without ever having been to the Fragrant Harbour. The  
latest fad among Hong Kong's rich and famous has been the "Harry Potter  
autograph", strips of parchment signed by the boy wizard during his recent  
trip to China.

It appears that the Potter autographs became popular when several  
businessmen who had obtained copies brought them to Fook Man Look,  
the posh and exclusive club in Tsimshatsui frequented by the Hong Kong  
wizarding elite. The businessmen apparently first heard of the autographs  
from their children, many of whom attend Tian-Long Academy in Long-Shan,  
which Potter attended for two months during an exchange programme last year.  
Subsequent autographs were released in limited numbers, resulting in auctions  
being eventually held for those impatient and desperate to obtain a copy for  
themselves. It is not known how much each autograph came up to, but sources  
speculate that the bidding could have gone as high as five figures.

"It is _de rigueur_, at the moment," enthused Cantopop star Benita Mui, wife of  
the tycoon Wee Ka-Shing, "Anyone who is anybody here must have one of  
the autographs."

But surely, one might ask, it would be more economical to take a holiday in  
Britain and personally obtain an autograph from Potter himself.

"No, indeed," says Macau casino king Stanley Po, "These autographs mark  
Harry Potter's trip to China. They are unique."

The elite will not divulge where the autographs came from, but insiders say  
the supplier is _Mui-Fatt Enterprises_, a small upstart company which  
garnered huge profits this year. It is believed that a member of the company  
attends Tian-Long Academy, and managed to obtain the autographs there.  
How the company member managed to obtain such a large number of  
autographs is not known, but it is rumoured that the member knows Potter  
personally, and that the latter must have obliged him. The autographs'  
popularity has since spread to several other countries as well. So far, all  
the autographs have passed the Authenticity Charm tests carried out on  
them, and Douglas Dimbleby, the representative of the British Ministry of  
Magic in Hong Kong, has himself testified that the autographs are genuine,  
having been to Long-Shan and heard it from Mr Potter himself. 

Harry closed his mouth, which had begun to hang open. Robert, who had initially been reading a  
book nearby, but had come over to have a look, now appeared extremely amused. Hermione  
was looking amazed.

"That Fatty," she said.

Harry was fuming.

"He must have employed those first-years," he said indignantly. "No wonder they knew our timetable  
inside out!"

"Calm down, Harry," said Ron, looking serious, although he was trying not to laugh, "After all, you've  
helped Fatty's father start his business over again."

Harry looked grumpily at Robert.

"All of you knew, didn't you?" he said crossly.

Robert shook his head, still looking amused. "We didn't; but it doesn't surprise me. Fatt has always been  
able to come up with ingenious ideas for making money."

At this moment, the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open, and Lavendar came in.

"Is Shan sick, Robert?" she said, seeing them there. "I saw her going to see Madam Pomfrey."

Robert suddenly looked rather tense. "What?"

"Shan," repeated Lavendar, "I saw her going into the hospital wing."

Robert had gone pale. He stared at Lavendar for a moment, then suddenly bolted over to the portrait hole,  
and out of the common room.

The others watched him as he disappeared, startled.

"What's with him?" said Lavendar, astonished.

"Guess he's worried about Shan," said Hermione, looking sympathetic.

Harry said nothing; he couldn't believe Shan could be so interfering. She must have gone to see Madam  
Pomfrey about giving Jeanne a checkup. Hopefully, Robert would be able to stop her in time.

They had classes after that, and Harry didn't see Shan and Robert again until lunchtime. They came in  
late, and there weren't any empty seats near Harry and the others, so they sat down at the end of the  
Gryffindor table, some distance from them. It was hard to tell Robert's expression, but Shan was looking  
annoyingly pleased with herself. In fact, she seemed to be positively glowing.

"What's the matter, Harry?" said Hermione, seeing Harry glowering at the two of them.

Harry hesitated, then, in a low voice, told her and Ron about Jeanne's condition.

"Oh, how nice if she really is expecting," was the first thing Hermione said.

"Don't think you need to worry, Harry," remarked Ron, "Madam Pomfrey's close to Jeanne. It's unlikely  
she'd tell Lupin anything if Jeanne didn't want her to."

Harry, however, couldn't help feeling a bit worried. Maybe he was imagining it, but Robert seemed to be  
looking rather subdued. Perhaps Madam Pomfrey had discovered that Jeanne really was expecting, and  
Shan had persuaded her to tell Lupin about it.

They came over to Harry and the others after lunch, and Shan was looking so happy that Harry didn't  
have the heart to be cross with her. After all, this was her last day at Hogwarts, and he probably  
wouldn't see her again for a very long time.

Harry had classes throughout the afternoon; Shan and Robert spent most of that time in the Gryffindor  
common room, quietly talking. Surprisingly, Robert seemed to be doing most of the talking. Harry hoped  
he was telling Shan off for being a busybody. When evening came, Shan said that she was going to help  
Jeanne prepare the steamboat buffet, and she and Robert disappeared out the portrait hole.

The buffet was to be held in another room near to Jeanne's, which Dumbledore had said they could use.  
When Harry arrived, he found Jeanne, Shan and Robert already eating.

"The table's not that large, and there might not be enough room for everyone," said Jeanne, "so we figured  
we'd eat first."

The buffet had already been arranged on the table. Several large dishes of noodles had been placed at  
one side, and there were plates and plates of uncooked dumplings of all types, and meat and prawns,  
and vegetables. A large tureen of steaming fish porridge sat at one end of the table. The steamboat  
consisted of several pots of boiling stock, into which the food was to be placed until it was cooked.

Ron was looking at the chopsticks.

"I've forgotten how to use those," he said.

Jeanne handed some bowls of noodles to them, and then pointed her wand at several small, slim,  
long-handled wire nets, which were lying on the table. The nets jumped up in the air, and flew over  
to her, making a dipping motion as if bowing in attendance to her.

"Just put whatever food you want cooked in these," she said. She placed three fishballs in one of the  
nets, and it immediately flew over to one of the pots and immersed the fishballs in the boiling stock  
until they were cooked. It then rose up in the air and flew back to Jeanne, and tipped the cooked  
fishballs into her bowl.

Harry, Ron and Hermione sat at the table, dropping the uncooked dumplings into their nets and  
watching them fly over to the pots of stock. Ron was having so much fun cooking the dumplings  
that there was soon a small hill of cooked dumplings sitting in the bowl next to him.

"You can't possibly eat all that, Ron," said Jeanne, looking amused. "I suppose you might as well  
put some of it aside for the others."

Parvati, Lavendar and a crowd of other Gryffindors came in after a while. Harry, Ron and  
Hermione promptly brought their food over to a corner of the room to eat, so that there  
would be more room at the table. Jeanne was sitting just nearby, with Shan and Robert. Harry,  
noticing that Jeanne was looking slightly worried, glanced around, and then whispered to Shan,  
"Where's Professor Lupin?"

"At a staff meeting," she whispered back. "Chien-Mei says he still isn't feeling well, but he insisted  
on going. She says he'll be joining us later."

After a while, Seamus, seeing that they had finished eating, came over and asked Ron if he could  
borrow the Chinese Chess set. Hermione took a book out from inside her robes, and went to  
another corner to read.

Ron came back with his Chinese Chess set, and proceeded to teach the others how to play the  
game. Shan was quietly talking to Jeanne, while Robert simply sat next to her, listening. Harry  
was watching them, pleased that Jeanne and Shan were talking at last. They were speaking in  
Chinese, and he wondered if Shan had been given Mrs Chen's message yet.

Half an hour later, Seamus came over and handed the Translator, which he had borrowed for the  
chess game, back to Harry, saying that he was familiar enough with the chess pieces to get along  
without it. Harry sat looking at the Translator in his hands for a while, then couldn't resist the  
temptation, and put it on. This would probably be the last chance he'd have of using it, anyway.  
Shan didn't look as if she was saying anything personal; her manner looked more as if she was  
telling some amusing story.

As far as Harry could tell, Shan was talking about her childhood and what it had been like,  
growing up in China. Jeanne was listening with a rather wistful expression on her face, and  
Harry guessed that she was thinking about her own childhood and what she had missed out  
on.

Hermione was still seated in one corner, reading. The book she was reading was obviously  
very touching, for she was indulging in a good cry. Harry saw Jeanne's eyes sometimes straying  
to the clock, after which she would glance anxiously at a goblet which had been placed on a  
table nearby. Lupin obviously still hadn't taken his tonic.

As it grew later, the Gryffindors started leaving. Ron came over to join Harry. A shout from  
outside distracted Shan, who was sitting near the window, and she stopped talking and went  
over and peered out.

Harry went over to have a look, as well. The moon was out, and Hagrid's large figure could  
be seen standing below the window, holding an exhausted-looking postal dragon in one hand.  
The dragon was lying sprawled on its back, its wings drooping, and its eyes bleary and half-open.  
Hagrid's other hand was holding a large parcel, which looked too big for one small postal dragon  
to carry.

"Parcel fer Jeanie," called Hagrid, and then shook his shaggy head, looking at the dragon,  
whose tongue was hanging slightly out of its mouth, "People've no sense, sendin' one small  
dragon wi' a large parcel li' that. Goin' ter take me half th' night ter revive him."

Harry could see that the prospect of having a dragon in his cabin, small and tame though it  
was, for half a night, appealed to Hagrid.

Shan opened the window, and got ready to climb down the ash tree outside, which was  
practically touching the castle walls, in order to get the parcel.

"Shan, what are you doing?" said Jeanne. She was seated at a table, absently running her  
finger over the goblet that held Lupin's tonic.

"I'll get it," said Shan, already descending the tree, "We're quite near the ground floor,  
anyway."

"You can just Summon it up," said Jeanne. Robert, however, looked amused.

"She wants to have a look at the dragon," he explained.

Jeanne watched as Shan disappeared out the window, then laughed softly and shook her  
head. Harry swung the window back so that it was almost shut, to prevent too much of  
the cold from getting in. He then went back in and sat down next to Robert. At this moment,  
the door opened, and Professor Lupin came in.

Harry could immediately tell from Lupin's face that something was wrong. He guessed that  
Jeanne and Lupin probably hadn't completely made up, yet.

Lupin placed his briefcase on a chair near the door, glanced around the room, and then  
looked at Jeanne.

"Where is Shan?" he asked, quietly.

Jeanne was looking slightly tense, and automatically placed one hand near her pocket, where  
Harry guessed the onyx tiger was still hidden.

"She went to get something from Hagrid," she said, indicating the partly open window. Even  
as she spoke, the window swung open again, and Shan hoisted herself in, clutching the parcel.

Lupin waited till Shan had climbed in and closed the window, before speaking.

"I'm sorry I'm late," he said, glancing at Shan, and then at Jeanne. "I was held up by Madam  
Pomfrey, for a while."

Both Shan and Jeanne went pale. Shan's eyes went wide, and she stood where she was,  
holding the parcel tightly, as if she couldn't move.

Jeanne's eyes strayed to Shan and then to Harry, and then back to Lupin.

"What - what was it about?" she asked.

Lupin glanced at Shan again, and then Robert, and then looked at Jeanne, and said something  
in Russian.

Harry was startled. He'd forgotten that Lupin must have picked up some Russian, during his stay  
in Kamchatka.

Jeanne's eyes widened, looking at Lupin. She said something, also in Russian, and Lupin replied.  
Jeanne then turned to look at Shan, an angry expression in her eyes.

"Shan, why have you done this?" she said.

Shan was looking nervous. She glanced at Robert, then let her gaze fall to the floor.

Hermione had finished her book, and had come over to sit next to Harry and Ron. Except for the  
three of them, all the other Gryffindors had already left the room.

"What's happening?" she whispered.

"I think Jeanne really _is_ pregnant," muttered Harry, "and Madam Pomfrey has told Lupin about it.  
Jeanne's now furious with Shan for telling on her."

Jeanne turned to Robert, a reproachful expression in her eyes. Robert was looking subdued. He  
glanced at Shan, and then looked at Jeanne. Harry felt sure he was going to say something in Shan's  
defence.

Robert and Jeanne sat where they were, looking at each other for several long moments. Then,  
Robert finally spoke.

"You don't understand," he said, very quietly, so that Shan, who was still by the window, wouldn't  
be able to hear, "I initially thought, too, that she should be left free, to find someone else, when the  
time came. But you don't know what the crystal showed me. She'll never have a happy life. It's the  
only thing I can leave them the only thing I can give her, that will make her live."

Harry didn't understand. He glanced at Ron and Hermione, and saw that they were looking blank  
as well.

Jeanne was also looking perplexed. Shan now came over, holding the parcel.

"I don't regret doing it," she said, softly and rather defiantly, placing the parcel on the table in front  
of Jeanne. Harry recognised the Tian-Long seal on it.

Hermione saw the Translator around Harry's neck, and frowned because she knew he had been  
eavesdropping. Harry, feeling guilty, took it off and put it in his pocket.

Jeanne's eyes widened when she saw the parcel. She had evidently been expecting it. She began  
unwrapping it, but refused to allow her attention to be totally diverted from Shan.

"You and I are going to have a talk after this, Shan," she said firmly, glancing at Shan, even as she  
tore off the last of the wrapper and revealed a cardboard box inside.

Lupin had also come over, and placed one hand on Jeanne's shoulder. "What is it?"

Jeanne's face went slightly pink when she felt the hand on her shoulder.

"It's the jade cups," she said. "Master Kung said he'd keep an eye out for them for me, and send  
them over if he managed to find them."

She opened the box, and Shan gave a small gasp.

"Those belonged to my mother," she said softly.

Ten beautiful little jade cups lay in the box, pale green in colour, delicate and polished. Jeanne smiled  
when she saw them.

"Yes, she left them to me," she said. She reached out and took hold of one - and immediately vanished.

Harry and the others were startled. Lupin, whose hand had been on Jeanne's shoulder, had disappeared  
as well.

Shan was also reaching out to touch the cups. Robert suddenly darted forward.

"Shan, don't touch them!" he said sharply, pulling her away. But it was too late; her finger had touched  
one of the cups, and both she and Robert vanished.

Harry, Ron and Hermione jumped to their feet.

"They're Portkeys!" shouted Harry. "We've got to go after them!"

The three of them didn't stop to think. As one, they each reached out and took hold of a jade cup.  
Harry felt the familiar jerking feeling behind his navel, and then he and the others were speeding  
forward, to where they knew not, in a howl of wind and swirling colour.

- 


	28. The Jade Dragon

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------  


**Chapter XXVIII**

**_The Jade Dragon_**

  
_It was created for this hour  
For this desperate night alone.  
The secret hidden within it  
Was by one solitary person known.  
  
  
  
  
_**H**arry felt his feet slam into the ground, and his hand let go of the jade cup. Ron and  
Hermione were right next to him, as were Shan and Robert. Looking up, he saw that  
Jeanne and Professor Lupin were standing a short distance from them.

Harry looked around. They were standing in a clearing. It was night, and the dark sky was  
studded with stars. The air was bitterly cold, and the landscape looked all too familiar: bleak,  
wild-looking forest surrounded them, and towering over them was a mountain, smoke issuing  
from its peak. Further away, more volcanoes could be seen, stretching in a chain into the  
distance. He was back in Kamchatka.

Jeanne looked very pale, and she and Lupin had taken their wands out. Seeing this, the rest  
of them took theirs out, as well.

Lupin came swiftly up to them, Jeanne following.

"Deorg sent those jade cups," he said quietly, his eyes wary. "He must be around here,  
somewhere. It's best if all of us go back at once, especially you." He looked at Jeanne.

She was about to reply, but all at once a voice rent the air, shattering the stillness.

"_Expelliarmus_!"

Their wands all jumped into the air, curving in an arc high in the sky, and landed at the feet of a  
tall, hooded figure, which had just stepped out from behind a tree some twenty feet away, at the  
edge of the clearing. The figure pointed its wand at the jade cups, and they also shot away from  
the ground toward him, landing near the pile of wands.

Harry felt that familiar, surging force in his mind. Jeanne cried out in fear, even as Lupin conjured  
up a ball of white fire and hurled it at Deorg.

"Fight him, Jeanne," he said urgently, "As we practiced!"

He quickly turned to Robert and said, "Shield the others, and keep your distance. Try to get near  
the Portkeys if you can."

Jeanne was clutching her head, as if in pain. Deorg pointed his wand at Lupin and muttered  
something. A jet of brilliant red light shot out from the wand, but Lupin dodged it, and threw  
another ball of fire at him.

Deorg hurled a stream of red fire at Harry and the others, who had retreated some distance away,  
but Robert had erected a bright Shield around them. The fire smashed into the Shield, and it  
dissolved. Robert swiftly raised a second Shield.

"He's quite powerful," he said tensely, as another stream of fire smashed into the Shield, which  
trembled at the impact.

Jeanne was twisting around, as if in agony. Lupin was still hurling fire at Deorg, trying to throw  
him off-balance; but Deorg merely deflected it with a wave of his wand. Jeanne suddenly took  
a step forward, and stumbled. Her resistance was beginning to crumble. She turned to look at  
Lupin, an expression of terror on her face. Then, she slowly began to transform.

"No!" said Lupin urgently. "Fight him off, Jeanne! Raise a Shield!"

Deorg laughed coldly, and began pelting both Lupin and the group huddled under Robert's Shield  
with jets of bright, red light.

Lupin quickly dodged, or hurled handfuls of flame to deflect them; but he looked as if he was tiring  
quickly.

"How's Lupin doing that?" asked Ron, glancing at the pile of wands near Deorg's feet.

"It's the volcanoes," said Harry. "They contain some kind of magic. Lupin learned how to use it  
when he was doing research here, ages ago."

"He still hasn't taken the tonic," said Hermione, watching anxiously. "He may not be able to hold  
Deorg off for long. Robert, can't you do something?"

But Robert already had his hands full trying to maintain the Shield, which shook with the impact of  
each jet of light.

"I can't do anything significant inside the Shield," he said. Seeing that Deorg was looking at Lupin,  
he pushed his hand out of the Shield for a moment, and pointed it at Deorg. Deorg's wand suddenly  
shot out of his hand, and toward Lupin.

Deorg gave a roar of rage, and drawing on the volcanoes' power, quickly hurled a ball of flame at  
the wand, destroying it in mid-air.

Jeanne had transformed into the huge beast that Harry remembered all too well, from three years ago.  
It raised its head, and snarled viciously at Lupin.

Deorg seemed incensed. He reached out toward the pile of wands lying nearby. Robert, seeing that  
he was distracted, poked his hand out of the Shield again and pointed at the wands. They flew into  
the air, toward him. But he still had to maintain the Shield, and the spell was not strong enough; the  
wands fell to the ground before they could reach Harry and the others.

Lupin, to prevent Deorg from Summoning the wands back, began hurling balls of fire at him. Deorg  
was now also angrily pelting all of them with balls of fire. Harry felt the surge in his mind again, and  
the beast screamed in fury. Deorg pointed a finger at Lupin, who was still deflecting the balls of fire.

"Kill him!" he shouted.

"No," whispered Shan, watching in agony.

The beast snarled, but as it turned to look at Lupin, it seemed to falter, and retreated a few paces.  
Harry saw Lupin looking at it, unafraid. He was quietly speaking to it.

Deorg shouted in anger, and the surging force came once more. The beast shrieked again, and went  
toward Lupin, a mad light in its eyes.

"Robert, do something!" moaned Shan, tugging at Robert's sleeve.

Deorg, however, was blasting them with fireballs again, and it was all Robert could do, to maintain  
the Shield. Lupin spoke to the beast again, and again it stopped in its tracks.

Deorg snarled in anger, and hurled a fireball at Lupin with terrifying fury. Lupin tried dodging it, but  
not quite, and it hit him in the shoulder. He fell to the ground, stunned.

This had an unexpected effect on the beast. It screamed in anger, then began shrinking. It changed  
shape, and Jeanne was there again. Her eyes blazing, she ran over to Lupin, and raised a bright  
Shield around the both of them. She then swiftly took the onyx tiger out of her pocket, and raised  
it high. A jet of bright, white light shot out of it, and smashed into Deorg.

Deorg cried out in pain, and staggered backward. Raising a hand, he threw a fireball at Jeanne.

The fire hit her Shield, and she faltered for a second, trying to maintain it. The jet of light from the  
Devil's Curse dimmed. Then, as she focussed her will again, it flared back into life, driving itself  
into Deorg.

Harry and the others were watching, holding their breath. Deorg was screaming in pain, and it  
seemed at first that Jeanne was winning. But then, she began to tire. To Harry's dismay, her Shield  
began to dim, and her shoulders started to sag.

Deorg noticed it too. Even while writhing in pain, he lifted a hand and hurled one last fireball at  
Jeanne. It smashed into her Shield, dissolving it. She stumbled back, and dropped the onyx tiger.  
It fell to the ground, a foot or so in front of her.

Jeanne made a move to retrieve the tiger, but Deorg was hurling more balls of fire at her and Lupin.  
With an effort, she raised a Shield, enclosing both of them.

Deorg gave a cry of triumph. And then, he made a big mistake. Still hurling balls of fire with one  
hand, alternately at Jeanne, and then at Harry and the others, he pointed the other at the onyx tiger,  
and concentrating, focussed a beam of light on it, to destroy it.

Shan's eyes gleamed.

"He's trying to destroy the Devil's Curse!" she whispered, excitedly. "If he does, he'll be weakened,  
and we can finish him off!"

Jeanne couldn't hold her Shield any more. It dissolved, and a ball of fire hit her, so that she fell to the  
ground, stunned. Deorg stopped pelting them with fireballs. He pointed both hands at the onyx tiger,  
and focussed all his power on it. It was glowing, brighter and brighter. Finally, it flared brilliantly for  
a few moments, then exploded in a burst of light.

Deorg stumbled sharply backward, then sank to his knees, looking weary. Shan gave a small gasp,   
then stepped out of Robert's Shield.

"We can get him, now!" she cried. Moving toward Deorg, she began to transform.

Robert dissolved his Shield, and grabbed at her robes.

"Shan, don't!" he said sharply. "Even when he's like that, you're still no match for him."

But she had already transformed. A large, green dragon had taken her place. With an ear-splitting   
scream, it rose into the air, and launched itself at Deorg.

Ron and Hermione were watching, startled. Robert drew a quick breath, watching her, then   
swiftly turned to Harry.

"Harry," he said quietly, "give me the Translator."

Harry wondered if he had heard rightly. "What?"

"The Translator," Robert repeated. "Give it to me."

Ron and Hermione were still watching the dragon, unable to believe that it was Shan.

Harry hesitated. He put his hand in his pocket; he could feel the hard form of the Translator   
there. But why did Robert want it?

The dragon had reached Deorg. With a loud roar, it lifted its head and let forth a torrent   
of flame from its jaws.

Harry looked at Robert. "What do you want it for?"

"There's no time to explain!" said Robert. He then did something rather strange; taking   
his glasses off, he threw them onto the ground, so that they shattered. He looked at Harry,   
a desperate expression on his face. "Just give it to me!"

Deorg had raised a partial Shield, enough to deflect the flames. He conjured a ball of white   
fire, and hurled it at the dragon. The dragon dodged, but the fireball hit one of its wings, and   
it screamed in pain.

Harry hesitated again. He felt slightly unnerved - he had never seen Robert, usually so calm,   
look like this before. Something told him that if he gave Robert the Translator, he was going   
to regret it for the rest of his life.

"Tell me what you want it for, first," he said.

Robert looked at him for a moment. Harry didn't see him move, but the next thing he knew,   
he felt something smash into his head, like a ton of bricks, and he was blinded by pain. He   
fell to the ground, holding his head in his hands. As if from very far away, he thought he   
could hear Ron and Hermione's voices, shouting, and the sounds of their fists knocking   
at something hard.

"Robert! What are you doing?"

"Robert, let us in!"

Harry heard the dragon scream in pain again. He could feel someone next to him, feeling   
inside his pockets.

"I'm sorry, Harry," he heard Robert's voice saying, "but there's no other choice."

The dragon screamed again. All at once, he sensed that Robert was gone. Instead, Ron   
and Hermione were now next to him.

"Are you all right, Harry?" Hermione sounded anxious.

Harry slowly opened his eyes. He was lying on his back. Ron and Hermione were   
worriedly bending over him.

Harry looked up at them, feeling dazed. "What happened?"

"Crazy fellow went starkers!" said Ron, helping him to sit up. "We saw you suddenly   
sprawling on the floor, and then he raised some kind of invisible barrier around the two   
of you, we couldn't get in!"

Hermione had turned to look at Deorg. She pulled at Ron's sleeve.

"Look," she whispered, her face pale.

Harry quickly turned to look. Shan had transformed back. She was lying on the ground,   
a few feet from Deorg, her glasses lying some distance from her, broken. Deorg was   
standing with hand raised, ready to finish her off with one last, fatal blow.

But Robert was already there. He raised a bright, glowing Shield around himself, and   
lifted the Translator in his hand. A beam of intense, bright green light swept out of it, and   
smashed into Deorg.

Deorg screamed. Robert shouted something at Shan, who somehow managed to get on   
her knees, and crawled away on all fours, her robes torn and muddied.

Deorg was still screaming. He managed to throw a ball of fire at Robert, but it bounced   
off the Shield.

The others were watching, speechless.

"Howhow is he doing that?" said Ron, looking startled.

Harry was staring in disbelief, as the truth finally sank in.

"It's the Translator," he said numbly. "I had it with me all the time, and I didn't know. The   
jade dragon - it's a Devil's Curse!"

Robert was still concentrating the beam of green light onto Deorg. Harry, glancing to his left,   
saw that Jeanne and Lupin had recovered; Lupin was helping Jeanne to her feet.

Deorg was still screaming and writhing. Unable to hurt Robert, he managed to fling a ball of   
fire at Shan instead, who was lying nearby. His aim was a bit off, and the fire was not very   
strong, but it hit her leg, and she screamed in pain.

Robert faltered, and turned to look at Shan. He lowered the jade dragon for a moment, then   
suddenly raised it in his hand again. A brilliant beam of green light shot out, and smashed   
irresistibly into Deorg. Deorg's robes ignited, and he was enveloped in green flame. He lay   
there, screaming and writhing in agony.

"He's taking a long time to go," muttered Ron, watching. "Remember how the Bronzeback   
died right away, during the tournament?"

Robert wasn't bothering about his Shield any more. He dissolved it, and then put everything   
he had into the jade dragon. It flared brilliantly in his hand, too bright to look at, and green   
light poured out of it, enveloping Deorg. The green flames on his clothing suddenly leapt up,   
crackling with a vicious intensity. Deorg gave one last wailing cry, and then fell down and lay   
still, in a smouldering heap of green flame.

Robert's hand, still raised, seemed to be smoking slightly. He lowered it, and stood looking   
at what was left of Deorg, for a moment. Then, he slowly sank to his knees, and fell to the   
ground.

Shan, seeing this, gave a cry of anguish, and limped over to him. Harry and the others were   
also hurrying forward, together with Lupin and Jeanne.

Shan had turned Robert over, so that he was lying on his back, and was bending over him.  
Lupin knelt down and felt Robert's pulse, then looked at Shan, and then at Jeanne.

Shan's face was white, and she was trembling slightly.

"What is it?" she said, looking at Lupin, "Is he all right?"

Lupin looked at her, and opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. Jeanne   
was sitting as if she had turned to stone.

Shan gave them one wild look, then bent over Robert and started shaking him.

"Wake up, Robert," she whispered. "Wake up. It's all over."

Jeanne looked at her, and then put a hand on Shan's shoulder.

"Shan, don't," she said, "Stop it."

Shan didn't seem to notice her. She kept shaking Robert.

"Robert, wake up!" she said urgently. "Wake up! Wake up, Robert!"

Lupin leaned forward, and gently pried Shan's hands away from Robert's shoulders.

"Shan," he said quietly, "he's gone. You can't bring him back. He's gone, Shan."

Shan stared at him for several seconds; Harry could hardly bear seeing the stricken look in her   
eyes. She turned back to look at Robert. Taking his hands into hers, she held them up to her   
face, and gave out a cry of indescribable pain and loss.

Jeanne stepped over Robert's body and put her arms around Shan, and held the sobbing girl   
close to her. Shan was crying almost hysterically.

Lupin sat where he was, watching, his face sober. Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each   
other, feeling at a loss. They sat down next to Lupin, averting their eyes from Jeanne and Shan,   
and looked out at the bleak landscape.

Shan was weeping uncontrollably. Jeanne was holding her, her eyes closed, tears trickling   
down her face. After a while, Shan calmed down. She drew herself away from Jeanne,   
and sat there, looking miserably at Robert.

Jeanne wiped the tears away from her own face, and looked worriedly at Shan, who was   
still holding Robert's hands. The jade dragon was gone, having exploded into vapour, unable   
to withstand all the power that had been poured into it. Robert's right hand was still smoking   
slightly, and there was a blackened scar on it, where the dragon had burned into it. Shan   
stroked it gently, and then slowly lowered it. There was a bitter expression on her face.   
She suddenly made a gesture at the pile of wands, lying some distance away, and her wand   
came flying through the air toward her. She caught it deftly, and looked at it for several   
seconds. Then, she slowly turned it around, and pointed it at her own chest.

Harry felt his heart stop. He heard Hermione give a small whimper of terror behind him.   
Jeanne and Lupin sat where they were, rather tense, watching Shan; but they remained   
silent, and made no move to stop her, as Harry thought they might.

Shan's eyes were lowered, and she was sitting like a statue, pointing the wand at her chest.   
After a while Jeanne said softly, "Now I understand. You can't do it now, Shan. Put the   
wand down."

Shan was looking at Robert again, and the hand that was holding the wand was shaking   
slightly. Then she slowly raised her eyes, and looked at Jeanne and Lupin. She gave a small,   
shuddering sigh, and then lowered the wand.

"I thought, for once, I was stronger than him," she said quietly, looking at Robert. "I thought I   
could make him do what I wanted. I thought it would make him stay. But in the end, he was   
cleverer than me, after all. He knew, didn't he, that I would kill myself. Why should I live?   
There's no one left any more Father, Mother, and now Robert - they've all left me.   
There's nobody left, any more."

Harry didn't understand. Ron, too, was looking blank. Hermione, however, was looking at   
Shan with a hint of wonder in her eyes.

Shan was still looking at Robert. Jeanne was silent for a moment, then drew a quick breath,   
and said in a low voice, "Yes, there is."

Shan slowly turned to look at her. Jeanne was gazing at her with a rather odd expression on   
her face.

"There is someone left, Shan," she said. "You still have someone; you have a sister."

Shan didn't seem to register what she was saying. She was still holding Robert's hand in hers,   
and she just sat there, looking at Jeanne.

Jeanne flicked a glance at Lupin. Lupin nodded quietly at her, and she turned to look at Shan   
again.

"You have a sister, Shan," she repeated, a strange light in her face. "You're not alone; you have   
a sister. You have me. _I_ am your sister."

- 


	29. Reunion

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------

  
**Chapter XXIX**

**_Reunion_**

  
_All these years I've felt this shame  
My family ruined, because of me;  
Now even though I know  
A greater villain was to blame  
My best friend died to set me free  
Where now am I to go?_

_I thought that I was all alone.  
I did not know that someone dear  
Was watching from afar.  
Now though I wander far from home  
My heart will always hold her near  
And hope shines like a star.  
  
_

**T**he clearing seemed very quiet, as they all sat around, Robert's still body lying in the   
middle, Jeanne and Shan sitting next to it, looking at each other.

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione, and saw from their stunned faces that they were   
thinking the same thing as he : that they hadn't heard rightly. Shan was looking at Jeanne   
in disbelief, her face pale.

Jeanne glanced at Harry and the others, looking rather tired, then turned back to Shan.

"I am your sister, Shan," she said again, "Your father was my father, and Mrs Chen was   
my mother. You had an elder sister, but you never knew, because I left all of you long   
before you were born."

She glanced at Lupin, who had seated himself next to her, and was quietly listening.

"That day in the river, when she saw me transform, Mother said she knew at once who I   
was," said Jeanne. "She told me who she was, the second time I went to visit her. She   
told me that I had a sister, ten years younger than me, whom I'd already met.

"I spent several hours with her in the hut, that evening. She told me everything that had   
happened since that day Charles Graham came, and took me away to live with him."

Jeanne was silent for a moment, as if thinking.

"When Charles Graham came and told our parents that Deorg was looking for a shape-shifter,   
Mother and Father didn't want to let me go. Father said that the family could go instead to   
Long-Shan, where his old friend Kung Xian-Wen was teaching at Tian-Long. He said Tian-Long   
was well-protected, because Lady Wen-Li was a powerful witch, and that I would be safe from   
Deorg there.

"But Lady Wen-Li didn't agree. When Father contacted her, she and Master Kung Apparated   
over to discuss the matter. Master Kung felt Tian-Long was safe enough; but Lady Wen-Li said   
Deorg was becoming very powerful, and that she could not guarantee our safety there. She and   
Charles Graham persuaded Father and Mother to let Charles adopt me, and he brought me to   
England, and hid me in a remote village there.

"When I was gone, Deorg came to our village, looking for me. He was furious to find me gone,   
and he would have slaughtered Father and Mother but Master Kung came, and they managed   
to escape. Lady Wen-Li asked them to stay at Tian-Long, and Father became the Caretaker   
of the Grounds there.

"As time went by, our parents gradually came to regret adopting me out. They felt that Tian-Long   
was safe after all, and that they should have brought me there instead. Father tried to contact   
Charles Graham, but was unsuccessful. Mother soon became distraught with grief. She couldn't   
forgot how terrible Deorg was, and she felt sure he would eventually find Charles and kill his   
entire family. Rumours of his awful deeds were spreading through the land, and she became   
convinced that I was dead.

"Mother swore she would never have any more children. She said she could not bear the pain   
of having another child, only to risk losing it again. And she hated all animals, because they   
reminded her of me. She couldn't bear the sight of them.

"But fate intervened, and several years later, she conceived again."

Shan was looking at Jeanne, very pale. Jeanne glanced at Harry and the others, who were all   
listening intently.

"When Shan was born, Mother vowed she would not have another shape-shifter as a child.   
She felt she had lost the ability to love. She was afraid to love, because she was afraid of   
the pain of losing a loved one again. She said many things to Father that she didn't mean,   
because she was insecure. She told him, if this child also turned out to be a shape-shifter,   
she would drown it.

"Seven years went by. Deorg was still searching for a shape-shifter, but he couldn't find me.   
Shan by then had discovered she could transform; she did it on the sly, so that Mother   
wouldn't know. But some of the villagers must have seen her, because word spread that   
the Chens' second child was a shape-shifter as well.

"One day a messenger came from Charles Graham. He said that Deorg had heard news   
that the Chens had another child who was a shape-shifter, and that he was coming to look   
for her.

"Father had faith in his old friend Kung Xian-Wen, and he said Tian-Long was safe, that   
Deorg could not penetrate it. But the message thoroughly frightened Mother. She wanted   
to get Shan out of the country. She had a distant cousin living in Singapore, and Mother   
felt that a place so far away would surely be safe from Deorg. She and Father spent days   
arguing about it. She said she tried telling Shan how wonderful it was in Singapore, that   
she would have a better life there, but Shan didn't want to leave."

Jeanne paused, and looked rather distressed.

"Finally, Mother waited till Father was away, and then smuggled Shan out of the country   
to Singapore. While she was gone, Deorg came to Tian-Long. He was furious to find that   
he had been outwitted again. He possessed Father, and destroyed his mind."

Shan gave a small sob, and turned to look at Robert, as if grasping at him for comfort.

Jeanne leaned forward and put an arm around her, and held her for a while until she became   
calmer.

"When Mother came home, she found that Father couldn't recognise her any more," Jeanne   
continued quietly. "He began to wander into the mountains at night, calling for his daughter.   
But - he wasn't calling for his younger daughter."

Shan looked sharply at her. Jeanne did not return the glance; she was staring at the ground,   
her face sad.

"Mother said Deorg had erased all memory of her and Shan from Father's mind," she said.   
"Instead, he placed images of me in his head, images of me suffering terribly at the hands of   
Deorg, of being tortured and eventually killed. Father was obsessed with the idea of rescuing   
me. He wandered the hills calling for Shan, but it was not Li-Shan he was calling for."

She turned to look at Shan.

"My name is Shan too," she said. "When you were born, you were given a similar name as   
your elder sister. You were Chen Li-Shan; I was Chen Wen-Shan."

Harry looked at the two of them. So all that time, Shan had thought the voice in the mountains   
had been calling for her, but it had been Jeanne he was calling for.

Jeanne said softly, "You thought all these years Father went mad because of you, Shan; but it   
wasn't so. It was Deorg. Deorg did this to all of us. He ruined our family."

Her voice was bitter. She shifted her position slightly, then continued.

"Two months ago, on the morning after the day I had tea with Septimus, Ping-Ping came   
looking for me. She said that she had come to Britain especially to find me. She brought   
me to a secluded spot, and told me many things I wished I had known before.

"She said that when Master Liu Pei fled from Tian-Long, he went to Siberia to find Deorg,   
who was an old acquaintance of his. He was aware that Deorg knew of a potion that could   
make one immune to the Devil's Curse. In return for this knowledge, he said he would teach   
Deorg how to prepare a potion that would restore him to his original strength.

"Liu Pei brought Deorg back to Tian-Long, and smuggled him in using the Abdovius Charm.   
Deorg was still weak from his encounter with Dumbledore, and he hid himself in the surrounding   
forests. He had come because the potion he wanted required ingredients which Liu Pei said   
were available in his office at Tian-Long. The potion also required one more ingredient : blood   
from a dragon, still living.

"Ping-Ping knew all this because she had been roaming the forest where Deorg was hiding out,   
and had eavesdropped on all their conversations when Liu Pei went to visit him. After that, she   
said that she and Pong took turns to trail Deorg.

"Deorg was weak, so he couldn't possess any of the healthy dragons. He had to find one that   
was old and frail. He discovered an old male Bronzeback, which was suitable for his purposes.   
The blood was to be added to the potion not all at once, but a little bit, every day, and it had to   
be fresh. So he possessed the Bronzeback every day, destroying its mind a little more every   
time, and he drew blood out of it and then closed up the wound. The Bronzeback soon began   
to go mad; it became convinced that any living thing around it was out to attack it. But Deorg   
managed to subdue it with his mental powers. He might have succeeded in completing the   
potion, if Yang-Kang had not discovered the Bronzeback, and killed it."

Harry saw Shan glance at him. That was our old Bronzeback, he thought, the one in the cave.

"The blood added to the potion has to come from the same dragon. Now that the Bronzeback   
was dead, Deorg was unable to complete it. He could still take the potion, but it would only   
partially restore his strength."

Jeanne's face hardened, and she hesitated, before continuing.

"At the same time, he knew that Mother was living alone in the hut. He bore a grudge against   
our family, and he decided to take what revenge he could. He was too weak to do anything   
to me or Shan, but Mother was old and frail, so every day, he drew a bit of her life force out   
of her, draining the life out of her."

Harry was startled.

"That means Deorg had you and Shan there - right underneath his nose, and he couldn't possess   
either of you."

Jeanne nodded.

"He didn't want Shan anyway, because she was only a partial shape-shifter, and could not   
transform into a beast. A dragon would have been difficult for him to control."

Harry was silent. All that time Jeanne had been staying at the hut, Deorg could have just   
been a short distance away, and none of them had known.

"Deorg must have possessed Mother whenever I left the hut for my lessons with Master   
Kung," said Jeanne. "He could easily erase her memory after that, and she'd never know   
that he'd been there. He must have learned from her that she'd told me she wanted me to   
have the jade cups. He probably removed them from the cupboard one day, when I wasn't   
around.

"When Mother died, Deorg found it pointless to stay around Tian-Long, since his ally Liu   
Pei was gone. He consumed the partially completed potion, and left Long-Shan. Ping-Ping   
said she didn't know where he had gone. He must have come back to Kamchatka, where   
his old fortress had been, and waited there until he regained his strength."

Jeanne looked around, a bleak expression on her face. For the first time, Harry noticed the   
ruins of what must have been Deorg's fortress, nearby. Deorg must have enchanted the place,   
for although it was winter, it was not as cold as it should have been, given the harsh winter   
conditions that usually prevailed in Kamchatka.

Shan was looking at Jeanne.

"Why didn't you tell me all this before?" she said slowly.

"I wanted to," said Jeanne, "but you weren't ready to hear it yet. You know that, Shan."

She reached out, and took Shan's hands in hers.

"I waited a long time to tell you, and I'm telling you now," she said gently, looking into Shan's   
face. "On the day Mother died, she was clear-minded. She wanted to see you, Shan. She said   
she was sorry for the way she had treated you, that if she could live her life over again, she   
would do everything differently. Just before she died, she said to tell you not to grieve. She said   
that she loved you, and that she was proud of you. She died at peace, without any bitterness,   
because life had been good to her in the end - she now knew that both her daughters were alive   
and well."

Shan looked at Jeanne for one long moment. Then, she slowly stood up. Jeanne got to her feet   
as well. Shan's face was pale; she opened her mouth to say something, then changed her mind.  
Jeanne held out her arms. Shan hesitated, then came forward; Jeanne took her into her arms,   
and held her close.

As Harry watched the two of them together, it suddenly hit him : Shan had never reminded him   
of Cho Chang. That odd, familiar feeling he'd initially had, whenever he saw her he now   
realised that it had been Jeanne, not Cho, whom she had reminded him of, all along. He had   
been fooled by the short hair and the glasses. There it was, the same features, the same manner  
Looking at them now, he wondered how he could have missed the similarity.

Lupin had gone over to Jeanne and put his arm around her. Hermione got up, and wiped away   
the tears on her cheeks.

"Come on," she said softly to Ron and Harry, moving past them, "We ought to leave them alone,   
for a while."

She turned and made her way toward the ruined fortress, Ron following. Harry looked again at   
the three of them, standing there, and then something else caught his eye.

The pale, smoky figures of a man and woman were standing nearby, watching them. Harry   
thought he recognised the woman. Even as he looked at them, a movement nearby made him   
turn, and he saw a similar smoky figure rising from Robert's body.

The man and woman came over to Robert. Shan's parents, thought Harry. They had come for   
Robert, because he had avenged them. He looked at Lupin and Jeanne. Both were facing the   
ghostly figures, but neither seemed to be able to see them.

Robert's shadow stood, looking at Shan for one long moment, then turned and went toward   
the man and woman. They took his hands, and then turned and began walking away, their   
figures fading even as they did so. Paler and paler they became, till at last they faded away   
altogether.

Harry turned to follow Ron and Hermione, intending to tell them what he'd just seen. But even   
as he started walking, the images began fading from his mind. Like wisps of smoke, they seemed   
to fly up and out of his memory, so that by the time he caught up with the others, they had vanished   
from his mind forever, and he was never again able to recall that he had seen them.

- 


	30. Last

  
------------------------------------------------------------  
**HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON  
**------------------------------------------------------------

  
**Chapter XXX**

**_Last_**

  
_Our lives are sun-sparkles,  
Brief flashes on the Ocean of Time;  
But Love is eternal.  
So wait for me -   
I believe,  
We shall one day walk again   
in the Timeless Land  
Where the voices sing their songs of forever,  
and the shadow of sorrow can never come._

**S**everal hours had passed. Harry and the others had gathered up the fallen wands   
and returned each to its owner, but they had left the jade cups where they were, for   
the time being. They had built a small fire at the edge of the ruins of the fortress, and   
were now sitting around it, feeling sober. In a small cabin nearby, they had found a   
large store of Liu Pei's potion, the one which could make a person immune to the   
Devil's Curse. Deorg must have smuggled it out of Tian-Long, and been consuming   
a bit of it, every day.

Lupin had Disapparated to Singapore to break the news to Robert's parents. Jeanne   
and Shan were visible in the distance, sitting quietly together around a fire in the clearing,   
with Robert's body next to them. Shan had laid Robert's head in her lap.

Harry was staring numbly at the ruins in front of him. The cave where Jeanne had been   
imprisoned must have been buried underneath the rubble, and the mirror probably lay   
there as well, destroyed. There was no more Stardust to bring Robert back.

Why didn't I guess? He kept asking himself. I had the jade dragon with me all the time,   
and I didn't know. No wonder Robert had taken such a long time to examine the   
Translator. He must have realised what it was, right away.

"Harry, don't blame yourself," said Ron, sounding subdued, "There's nothing you could   
have done, anyway. If Robert hadn't taken the Translator, Deorg would have killed Shan."

Harry didn't feel any better.

"I should have known," he said, staring at the fire in front of him. "Listened to Yang-Kang more   
in class how to identify a Devil's Curse tried to learn how to work one, or something "

Hermione was sitting next to him, her face rather pale, but she looked more composed than   
Harry would have thought, considering her friendship with Robert.

"Harry," she said softly, "don't feel bad. I think Robert wanted it to happen this way. There's   
something else Sang Nila told Jeanne, which I didn't tell you "

They turned to look at her.

Hermione glanced at Shan and Jeanne in the distance, then turned back to Harry.

"Robert had a genetic defect which magic couldn't cure, Harry," she said. "He knew it all   
along, and Shan knew it too. He wouldn't have lived beyond the age of twenty-five."

They were looking at her in surprise.

"That's why Shan didn't want him to go to Shao-Lin," said Hermione, staring down at her   
hands in her lap. "She felt they already had so little time to be together, as it was."

"But thenwhy did he decide to go?" said Ron, looking bewildered.

Hermione took a book out from inside her robes, and placed it in her lap.

"I think he suspected something like this was going to happen," she said, staring at the   
book. "He wanted to get Shan used to the idea that she would have to get along without   
him sooner, so that it wouldn't be too much of a shock to her when it happened."

Harry looked at the book. It was _The Snow Goose_.

"Is that the book you've been reading all evening?" he asked.

Hermione nodded.

Harry picked the book up. It looked dog-eared and battered, as if it had been read so   
many times that its owner knew it by heart, and had kept it away in its transparent   
wrapping, for safekeeping.

Harry opened the book; Chinese characters had been scribbled on the inside of the   
front cover. Robert had written a classical poem in Chinese there, together with an   
English translation below. It was by Su Tung-Po, one of the Tang Dynasty poets :

  
_To what can our life on earth be likened?  
To a flock of geese,  
Alighting on the snow  
Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage._

  
Harry looked at it, then passed the book to Ron, who turned it around in his hands,   
a thoughtful look on his face. Harry glanced down at his left hand. The images of his   
parents were becoming more indistinct. The starlight was slowly diffusing out; even   
as he watched, the faces of his father and mother gradually faded away, and were   
gone.

They heard a slight noise behind them, and turning around, saw Jeanne standing there.

"Remus has come back with Robert's parents," she said soberly. "They've come to   
bring him back to Singapore." She looked at Harry. "Shan will be going with them.   
I think she would like to speak to you, Harry."

Shan was sitting alone in the clearing, staring into the fire. She looked up when Harry   
came over, and sat down next to her.

He looked rather worriedly at her. "Are you all right?"

She nodded, then glanced at the figures of Jeanne and Lupin in the distance, together   
with two others, whom Harry guessed were Robert's parents.

"Robert's parents have asked me to go live with them, and be their daughter," she said,   
"And I've agreed."

"That's good, Shan," said Harry, for want of something better to say.

"And my sister has said that she and Professor Lupin will come down to Singapore and   
visit me, sometimes."

She turned to look at him, a serious expression on her face.

"Harry, you were a comfort to me many times, these past few months," she said, "Especially   
when my mother died. You've been a good friend; I want to thank you for that."

Harry thought of Robert. The image of him, lifting the jade dragon high in his hand, the green   
light shooting out of it, came back to him. He wished, in his heart, that Ping-Ping had never   
given him the Translator.

"I could have done more," he said, "The Translator - "

But Jeanne had now come up from behind again.

"Shan, it's time to go," she said softly, interrupting them, "Robert's father has brought him   
back to Singapore already. His mother is waiting for you."

Shan nodded, to show she was coming. Jeanne looked affectionately at her, then turned   
and made her way back to where the others were.

Shan stood up, as did Harry.

"I want you to have something, Harry," she said, turning to him. She took her jade dragon   
pendant from around her neck, and holding it in her hands, transfigured it, and then held it   
out to him.

Harry bent his head to look at it. Instead of a dragon, the jade was now oval in shape.   
Carved on it were the delicate figures of several plants : a branch of plum blossoms,   
bamboo, and a pine tree.

"These are the Three Friends of Winter," said Shan. "They represent enduring friendship,   
because they live and bloom in winter, as true friendship still flourishes in adversity. It's   
often given by the Chinese, as a token of friendship."

Harry looked at the figurine in his hands.

"Shan, I can't take this," he said. "This was your father's gift to you!"

She shook her head, and her face was sad.

"I can't ever look at a jade dragon again without thinking about what happened tonight,   
Harry," she said. "My father is in my heart, and he will always be there. I don't need the   
pendant to remind me of him."

Something about her seemed different. There was a determined look in her eyes. She held   
her head up, confidently, and the old childishness, the sometimes hopeless expression she   
had on her face, was gone. Harry, looking at her, was reminded of the starlight image Robert   
had created in the Astronomy Tower.

"Everything is clear to me now," she said. "Even though I don't know what lies in front of me.   
During the New Year, Robert and I spent a lot of time, talking. It was incredible; I'd never   
heard him talk so much before. He kept saying he was worried about me, and he made me   
promise I would take care of myself, and believe in myself more, when he was gone. After   
what he's done for me, I won't let him down."

Jeanne was calling to them again, from a distance. Shan turned and looked at her, then began   
making her way over. Harry followed, still looking at the figurine in his hands.

As they were approaching the group, he suddenly turned to her.

"Shan," he said, "Before you go - I was wondering about Ping and Pong; where did they come   
from? Have they always lived in the bamboo grove?"

She looked at him, surprised, then shook her head.

"I remember clearly the day they came," she said. "They were gifts to my father, brought by a   
visitor from abroad. I remember it well, because that was just before my mother decided to   
bring me to Singapore."

Harry was rather startled. "Who was the visitor?"

She looked thoughtfully at him, then shrugged.

"I don't know, Harry. I was only seven at the time. I only remember what he looked like : he   
wasn't Chinese; he had snow-white hair, and a hawk-like face, and very penetrating blue eyes."

Harry looked at her, astonished. He was about to say something, but they had now reached the   
others.

Shan went to say goodbye to Ron and Hermione, shaking Ron's hand and giving Hermione a   
hug. Then she went over to Lupin, who bent down and kissed her. She then turned to Jeanne,   
who took her in her arms and held her there, for a long time.

Finally, Jeanne let her go. She said something softly to Shan, who nodded, and then came back   
to Harry.

"Good-bye, Harry," she said, looking soberly at him.

Harry looked at her, and suddenly words just didn't seem enough to say goodbye. The events   
of the past few months flashed past him : the first time he'd met her and Robert, the time he'd   
released Yang-Kang from under the bell with her help, the flight they'd shared on the Silverwing

There didn't seem to be any words adequate for a time like this, so instead he just leaned   
forward, and quietly kissed her on the cheek.

She smiled rather sadly at him, then turned and went over to the pleasant-faced woman who   
must be Robert's mother, who had been standing by, watching, all the while.

Ron and Hermione had come over to Harry, and were now standing next to him. Robert's   
mother embraced Shan, and the two of them then turned around and faced the rest of  
them.

Shan called something out in Chinese to Jeanne, who smiled softly and nodded. She then   
turned to look at Harry.

Harry wasn't sure why he said it.

"You'll write, won't you?"

Shan looked surprised, then gave a small nod, and smiled at him. That was how he later   
remembered her, smiling, as the woman placed an arm around her and nodded at all of   
them, before Disapparating the both of them away.

They stood around for a few moments, still looking at the spot where the two had been   
standing. Then, Lupin turned to the rest of them.

"We should be getting back, as well," he said quietly, looking at each of them in turn,   
before making his way over to where the jade cups were lying, Jeanne at his side.

Harry and the others followed. As they gathered around the Portkeys, Ron on one side   
of him and Hermione on the other, he saw Jeanne looking around at the landscape for   
one last time, her face sad.

He turned around himself, for one last look. This was where everything began, he thought,   
and it was ending here, as well. He never wanted to come back. The ruins of Deorg's   
fortress were still visible in the distance, the cave and the mirror lying beneath it, lost forever.   
All around him, stretching to the horizon, the massive volcanoes lifted themselves high into   
the night sky, smoke issuing from their peaks. The bleak land lay frozen in the grip of winter,   
silent and asleep, waiting for the brief spring in the months ahead to awaken them. But that   
was in the future. At present, all seemed still and quiet; only the sound of the wind could be   
heard, high up among the cliffs, like the distant echo of a man's voice calling a girl's name,   
far away.

-------- end ----------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Those who have read Susan Cooper's _The Grey King _may notice that I have taken several  
lines from that book and used them here. Much of _The Grey King _failed to make a lasting   
impression on me, but these few lines have always come back to haunt me over the years,   
and I decided to weave them into Jade Dragon because they fit in so well with the story.

_The Snow Goose_ was written by Paul Gallico. I chose it because it was also a story about love that  
could never be fulfilled (because the main character, Philip Rhyader, died in the end); and it is also a story   
about appearances and the true person within. (Rhyader was a hunchback whom everyone shunned   
because of his appearance, but he was kind and gentle and had a great heart and a love of all   
wild and living things).

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed. I hope that everyone who read Jade Dragon liked it   
and found the story meaningful.

~ Kim/Starlight (gryffindor1970@yahoo.com)

_January 2001_

-- 


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